


the witches you failed to burn

by CheezPleez



Category: Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-14 04:10:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 54,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19265620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheezPleez/pseuds/CheezPleez
Summary: “You know there is witchcraft in your blood”he argued with his mother about it he argued with ray about it he was not nor would he ever be a witch.  Little did he know he would be more than eating his words in the days to come.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> as always I don't own this  
> for reference this takes established information from the real ghost busters series the original ghostbusters movies and the IDW comics particularly ghostbusters international

“You know there is witchcraft in your blood”  
The words had been swirling around in Egon's dreams. An argument he constantly had with his mother and continued by Ray. He was a man of science as far as he was concerned what was considered witchcraft by one generation was merely science they didn't understand at the time. There was always a logical answer, and yet since his mother's passing a month ago he couldn't seem to shake those words. What was generally taken as a playful jest at his oftentimes serious demeanor was now almost sounding like a warning. Was it really? Or was it stress and grief changing his perception. He had been putting off going to her house to clean things out, not for lack of help but because he just wasn't ready for that. Emotionally speaking he always had a difficult time with stressful situations. 

Ray and Pete had been extremely helpful when planning final arrangements but he wasn't sure how they would handle this. Part of him wanted to hire a company to take it all away and be done but deep down he knew he couldn't do that. Even if he did not intend to keep it he couldn't just send it away without seeing what was there. His mom was bestowed with many family heirlooms and antiques after the passing of several other family members including his uncle cyrus who had only been gone a year prior to her passing. It seemed like his family had managed to average one death in the family per year with the exception of some distant cousins he had no remaining immediate family. A fact he nearly dreaded to think of. Even for him the subject of one's own mortality could be pretty intimidating especially since his job gave him a glimpse into the possibilities there after. Busting jobs had been pretty quiet recently however, business at the bookstore was at an all time high. Seems the occult and the supernatural were the current fad with the younger crowd and Ray's Occult was one of the few stores that wouldn't kick them out, a business decision that worked out in their favor as many of the “loitering kids” eventually saved up the money to buy the books they were spending their time there reading. Ray had even allowed for the now empty overflow room to become a space for group meetings. This was something Egon felt was playing with fire as it seemed to blur the line between a healthy fascination and the beginnings of a fanatic cult, however it was not his call he just helped with the shop when things were slow at the firehouse. 

For the past few weeks now there were three young women who were at different times always in the shop, always while he was working, and they always found a reason to come talk to him. It started out as small talk “how's the weather, do you have this book, ect.” but this week the questions became more probing and personal. Things people who aren't at least on familiar terms should be asking about. He had addressed the issue to ray who laughed it off with 3 star struck women who happened to be fond of him but, after the current line of questions he couldn't help but think it wasn't exactly some idle fascination. He figured it might be best to just ignore them until they got the message and left him alone. He wasn't trying to be an ass and while all three were very pretty he just wasn't interested and didn't really see anything good coming from giving complete strangers personal information. 

The silent routine went on for about 2 weeks before the three stopped coming to the store all together. Ray wasn't particularly happy that egon had scared off not one but 3 potential customers but he also understood that it wasn't all his fault. He had finally managed to talk Him into going to his mother’s for the weekend to at least start going through the items she left behind. It wasn't an easy feat either as he went so far as to say its too busy to leave the store, thankfully there was a simple solution. He owns it rso he decides when its open so he posted they would be closed for a few days leaving Egon with absolutely no way out. No on likes cleaning out a loved ones house it can be a bitter and painful experience but it will only get harder if they didn't deal with it. Besides who knows what they would find. His family had a really rich and exciting history whether Egon believe it or not his mother often spoke of family members that were associated with witchcraft and witch hunting which Ray often teased was not that much different from ghostbusting. Maybe his mother was onto something. He had to admit he was gonna miss her as well. Mrs Spengler was a wonderful and caring woman who was quickly trying to feed and care for anyone she felt needed it. Several summers while in college Ray would stay with Egon rather than go home. For him the place was practically home. He quickly finished tossing a few things in his back and headed for the car where Egon was waiting looking like he was headed to the gallows rather than his mother's house.  
He smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder “Cheer up Egon you have a whole weekend away from Peter.” a voice carried from the office nearby “ Hey! I heard that. Maybe you won't find that as funny if i change all the locks while you are gone.” Egon managed a small smirk. Even he couldn’t help but smile when someone messed with Peter. Perhaps Ray was right maybe he did need to get this over with and neither of them were getting any younger so why wait. It was a 4 hr drive from new york city but ray swore he could make it 3 with a shortcut which generally meant add at least an hour and a half because Rays shortcuts never ended up being shortcuts.

Sure enough the 4 hour trip took 6 but they managed to find their way there eventually with Ray cursing his map most of the trip. They stopped at a diner and were able to get directions from a waitress who mentioned that the new highway that came through caused some of the roads to change and offered Ray a new map complete with her phone number on the back. Flattered and a little bit flustered with the gesture he thanked her, paid the check, and they left. From the diner it was only an hour or so away from the house and after being in a car most of the day Egon could honestly say he was happy to see it knowing there was a comfy bed waiting for him at the end of the day. As they exited the car something in the air made the hairs of the back of his neck stand up. He couldn't quite tell what it was but he felt like something wasn’t right, like they were not welcome here. He had never experienced that before. He was aware that the neighbors had never been too friendly with them and that everyone mostly kept to themselves. As he grabbed his bag from the trunk he was startled by a sharp gasp let out by Ray who was already up the drive to the poarch and had frozen at the top step. “E...Egon… you um…. Might wanna take a look at this……” he hurried with his bag up the drive to meet Ray. There on the front door someone had painted in red the Word traitor followed with a black pentagram it looked recent too. If this was someone's idea of a joke it wasn't funny. It was about dusk but there were neighbors out and about sitting on their porches and taking walks. The paint still glistening told Egon someone had to have seen someone at his house He wanted answers now. Without a word he turned and walked down the drive to the neighboring house where he had just seen someone walk in the door. 

As he approached the door he saw the inhabitant peek out the window draw the curtains and turn off the lights. He knocked anyway but there was no answer only silence. He continued to pound on the door. Finally a young woman brandishing a baseball bat opened the door. “Don't you know when you aren’t welcome?” she spat at him. He was stressed and tired and frankly not in a pleasant mood this was just the icing on the shitty cake. He snatched the bat from her hands “maybe i'm just a little stubborn right now, i saw you sitting on your porch, so who did you see on mine because my door is painted and it's still very wet so i find it pretty hard to believe you didn't see anyone around.” ray had raced over when he heard the commotion not sure if he should step in or not. Without so much as a sound there was suddenly a large figure on the porch holding Egon up by his throat. A low rumbling voice spoke “you would do well to leave now.” as if he was a rag doll the figure tossed Egon over the hedges and onto the sidewalk. Ray stood terrified when the figure turned towards him “You….. Keep your friend in check. Finish your business and leave”  
Ray didn't have to be told twice he quickly ran to collect Egon who was still trying to pick himself up off the ground. Ray could see his hip took most of the impact and was bleeding through his pants. His shirt was also torn at the elbow and the wrist and it didn't look good. While nothing was broken through the skin it was definitely not right. Egon was now up and had wheeled around to see the other houses on his street had all gone mostly dark and no one was outside now. There was an eerie almost haunting feeling in the air.Ray helped Egon to the house before they made any more trouble Egon was shaking although Ray couldn’t figure if it was fear or anger at this point. He didn't get a good look at the person who tossed him off the property but they looked huge almost inhuman from his perspective and while Egon wasn't the strongest guy around he also wasn't exactly easy to toss around. He was searching around the kitchen for the first aid kit he knew had been there. 

Egon sheepishly shuffled in and sat at the kitchen table. It was only now in a better light that ray could see just how scared Egon seemed.on his left side from his hip down his pants were torn revealing a scrape from most likely the pavement it didn't look too serious but it did look painful. He found the kit and turned to look at the full damage. He saw there on egons throat a thick black imprint of a hand. It almost looked burned into his skin. He noticed Now that he was gasping for his breath tears streaming. He almost looked like he was pleading with an imaginary being who was showing him no mercy. He had begun to lose all color. Ray ran over dropping the first aid box on the floor. The clattering sound seemed to scare away the invisible attacker away. The mark on his throat had now turned a purple bruised color as the grip on his throat disappeared. Egon put his head in his hands letting out a small frightened whimper. It seemed like everything and anything he had been holding back emotionally let loose right there. He turned to Ray his face gaunt and distressed. “We have, I have made a horrible mistake coming here. We need to do what we can and leave. I can't explain it but its like some force wants me gone.” Egon was shaking horribly and nearly rocking on the chair. Ray had seen him upset but never like this. Whatever was happening here he felt the woman next door had something to do with it. Maybe they should have brought some gear. Perhaps she had actually managed to train a ghost as her personal bodyguard.  
“What or who tossed you off the neighbors porch? Tell me about it maybe we can call Winston and Pete and…” Egon had begun to shake his head. “No this isn't something they need to deal with. We need to finish here and go. Just forget what you saw on the porch it was not meant for you to see.”


	2. Chapter 2

A small figure silently crept out into the night gently across the well maintained lawns and down a trail to a small old victorian house. The rusted gates opened as if on their own at her approach. As she neared the house she walked quickly worried someone would see her clad in black walking in the dark. She carefully wrapped on the door. with a swift opening she slipped in without a word.  
Inside there were several other men and women all gathered around watching her entrance expectantly. She sat at the nearest available seat and with that attention turned to a gentleman standing at the center of the room. He proceeded to clear his throat and address the gathering “Well i see Morgan has arrived finally” he shot a brief glare at the young woman who had come in. “now what can you tell us from your altercation this evening is anything different from what your coven sisters have told you?” she surveyed the room and rose from her chair. “Well my sisters had said that there was no real evidence of supernatural power residing in Mr. Spengler however that seems to have changed. Humphry should have easily been able to kill him this evening even if his abilities were minimal.” the gentleman nodded “thank you morgan that's an important update and please do not name your demoic familiars they are not pets.They are entities that are gracious Enough to help us in our work.” She bowed her head a little and continued “my guess is that he has finally accepted the fact that he is the head of what's left of the Spengler family whether he knows the burden of that task remains to be seen. I also get the feeling that the passing of Mrs spengler removed any final protective defences place over him. While she herself was not a practitioner of witchcraft she did make promises to her husband to protect the family when at all possible. She was the last foolish line of defence. Now you have an untrained warlock with unimaginable power and no control. However there is one small problem…… a non magical saw humph- er my familiar this evening. I thought he had come alone i wasn't aware he had brought his friend with him.” there was a brief murmuring throughout the room. “My hope is that he will think it was just a person that he couldn't get a good look at. I know Spengler got a pretty good look at him but he is in too much shock to be able to recall the exact features. I think this is the first time he has really seen the true form of a demonic entity. Until now he was protected with the ability to see things as a mortal but that veil has officially been lifted. I will keep an eye on them while here if he pokes around too much we can eliminate him but for now i think it's best to see just what he knows or thinks he knows.” With that they all nodded in agreement and began to rise from their seats and file out. Morgan was about to leave when the gentleman that had been speaking called her aside.   
“Yes Daniel?” She hated being called aside it generally meant more work for her that she honestly didn't want.   
“Morgan, as a member of the Kestrel clan you have an obligation to destroy the Spengler family once and for all. We are counting on you and your sisters to do what needs to be done by whatever means possible. You may have to get your hands dirty. Now be safe walking home, until we meet again”   
With that he was gone in a black puff of smoke. She was somewhat jealous of the older witches and warlocks who could do that. Her sisters had nearly perfected it but had been working for nearly 100 years on it. She was young enough that she still had a way to go before she was able to move between places like that. For now conventional methods such as brooms and cars would have to do. While she hated to admit it, the advent of the automobile was a welcomed form of travel as sometimes the weather is not the greatest to fly. Her father was able to be caught and executed because he insisted on flying in foul weather. After that her sisters and her made the promise to each other that they would not risk flying in poor weather. Even the mortals with their airplanes had the sense to stay grounded then. 

The Spengler family had a rich and wretched history of hunting their own kind as well as any other non mortal creature whether it be witches, werewolves , or even sirens. Their name was likened with that of the van hellsing family except in their case they were blood traitors. While the Van hellsings were a clan of well trained mortal hunters each and every spengler had used their abilities and knowledge to hunt down his kin. This Egon was no different as he caught ghosts for a living and was paid for it, even celebrated for it. She was shaking with rage as she thought of all that the Spengler family had taken from her including her grandmother and her parents. Part of her had hoped she and her sisters would have their revenge but now that the chance was upon them was she really up to the challenge? While he may be untrained in even the most basic of magics that takes decades to truly master his lineage could provide a natural talent for it. If she had a say in it everything would end right now while he was surrounded by those who his family betrayed. This neighborhood was as old as they come and while the houses changed with the times the families within them did not. What was once a haven for witches and warlocks looking for a place to settle was now a reminder that one of their own kept them under their thumb. With luck they would be freed from the tyranny of the Spengler family and free to do as they please.


	3. Chapter 3

Ray had convinced Egon to try and rest and they would see what they could do in the morning. He knew that the trip in cost them a lot of time when they got lost and the incident upon arrival was too much. Egons wrist was probably broken but for now he bandaged it best he could. Egon was talking somewhat nonsense here and there he couldn't take him to a hospital like that he would be committed in a heartbeat. He figured it best they both get some rest and start fresh the next day. It would be good for him, he would see.

Egon found it impossible to sleep. He was still shaken by the thing he saw. It filled him with a terror he hadn’t felt since the marshmallow man incident a few years prior. He couldn't tell Ray what he had seen if his life depended on it. He could only describe how it made him feel. He felt like he had seen his own death in the eyes of the creature. He did not remember entering the kitchen. He remembered being tossed off the porch but after that he doesn't know what happened it's gone from his memory all except fear. His stomach flipped at the mere thought of it. He felt like he was literally going to die unable to breath unable to see pleading with whatever had him desperately trying to cry out only for the noise to be choked up in his throat. The night was going to be long, he had the urge to pack up and leave now yet Ray was adamant they stay. After all they did spent the entire day driving there. Perhaps he was right tomorrow was after all another day. 

Once Ray was sure Egon was asleep he crept downstairs to the study. Egons mother never really allowed them in there even as adults. He figured whatever was going on might be in there somewhere and he had a hunch where to look or at least when to look. As he slowly opened the door and crept into the room he was amazed at what he saw. Bookshelves lining every wall with volumes upon volumes of old and tattered tomes many looked like they were hundreds of years old. The air in the room was stuffy and stale showing it has been years since it was actually inhabited. There was a particularly battered book sitting by the desk so he figured that may be just as good a place as any to start. As he walked further into the room he could feel the tension in the air as if the room itself knew he wasn't supposed to be there. He cautiously approached the book almost waiting for something to happen. As he picked it up in his hands he almost thought he could feel room ease up as if the sense that he was only there to help was understood. As he carefully examined it he saw that it was simply titled history. He had found his starting point. He spent hours leafing through pages reading about Egons entire family. It was no wonder he ended up a ghostbuster his family had been eliminating supernatural threats for literal centuries. Some had methods that were a bit more brutal than others but they all got the job done and where celebrated heroes in their hometowns. 

He was vaguely familiar with a few of the Spengler families who were said to have been warlocks but looking at this it seemed that they pretty much all were. With that in mind it was very clearly they used their gifts against their own kind making no hesitation when it came to destroying them. There were accounts of each and every creature vanquished by one member of the family. The histories went well into modern times but when it came to Egons grandfather and father's generations it began to taper off and then stopped altogether. He leafed through the empty pages desperately searching for some sort of answer about what happened why had it stopped. In his frantic search though the remaining pages a quick turn of the page resulted in a paper cut. He quickly drew his hand back in surprise. He was astounded that after all these years the pages were still crisp enough to cut skin. He returned his attention to the book in front of him and was shocked to see words scrawled across the book as if hidden until the right time. 

Oct. 1959  
I cant keep putting this family at risk. Father is gone a result of a job gone horribly wrong. I can't in good conscience with a son on the way continue this legacy. His mother and i have discussed the matter. All evidence of magic in our family will be hidden his abilities locked away. He hasn't even been born and i Can tell you he will be extraordinary. His magical energies are felt by many who have the gifts we possess but i can not ask this of him. These hunts will end with me. When this is read it will mean we are both long gone from this world and I hope to god My son has someone in his life to watch him and keep him safe. I hope to god that protector is the one reading this. When our protections are gone the enemies of our family will not hesitate to strike. The witchwars will come again and I have willingly left my child unprepared in the hopes they will show mercy that he has no knowledge and no doing in the acts carried out by those before. Those enemies quite literally in our own backyard will begin to make themselves known. My Son heed these words , You cannot win this. it will never end in anything other than pain and loss. Flee from this town burn the house and never ever look back you don't have to save the world anymore. 

Ray sat flabbergasted. Just as he went to close the book one last message appeared in a curly feminine handwriting that he knew all too well

Egon while you can't begin to understand what life was like before you came along i know that through it all your father would be proud of the man you became magic or not you have saved the world on many occasions and even faced those he thought would soon destroy you. Your friends are good to you, keep them. Keep them safe, let them keep you safe and don't be afraid to do what you feel is right for you. No matter your choices you make I love you and since I know you won't be the first to find this book, Raymond, take care of him I'm thankful he met you and Peter all those years ago he did not deserve a life of loneliness.   
Love forever, Mom

At this point ray could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. Egons mom was a wonderful woman. He had never met Egons father as he had passed just before he had begun college. It was hard but he knew that Egon needed to see this in the morning. He needed to know that something was coming. For now he had the answers he needed and his eyes began to grow heavy. He made his way to the spare room to get some sleep even if just for a few hours. 

Egon was tossing and turning in his bed, nightmares running through his mind at least he thought they were nightmares. The smell of fire and death permeating his nostrils as horrified shrieks and screams echoed around him. He could see people fleeing horror carved into their faces as they looked back at what ever sent them fleeing for their lives. As he was about to turn he saw 2 men running the opposite direction of the crowd he recognized the stature of the one man from anywhere, it was his father but who was the young man with him. As he surveyed his surroundings it occurred to him that this was a relatively modern setting perhaps 1950’s. His attention was suddenly pulled to what was in front of them, a woman stood and by her side a horrible creature much like what he saw tonight the two men stood their ground ready for a fight when suddenly the figure has there holding the oldest man up by his throat. Panic set in as Egon watched in horror the life quickly draining from the man. The young man at his side lept towards them “dad, dad comon fight back you can't let him hold you!” it was too late the creature dropped his lifeless body in a crumpled heap on the ground As the man dodged attacks from the woman speeding towards him Egon realized he wasn't having just any nightmare he was watching the night his grandfather died. He always knew there was an accident but he never knew what kind no one would ever talk about it. He watched as the young man fought back the lady while holding his father's body close. Finally she came close to them and stopped. “Why are you doing this why bother with these people?” he cried. She cackled and knelt beside him “We are the descendants of the witches you failed to burn we are the daughters of Kestrel and we will fight until the name Spengler is wiped from the sands of time.” as she began to cackle louder the young man smiled “too bad you’ll be dead” in a panic she looked at her feet where there was a symbol in the dirt written in what looked to be blood. It was if the pits of hell themselves opened up and swallowed her whole. As she clawed and screamed desperately trying to pry her way out of her soon to be grave. Egon couldn't help but feel she looked familiar to him. With one last wretched screech she was gone. The creature who had accompanied her was nowhere to be seen. The only sounds were the cracking of fire and the crumbling of buildings, all else was still. The young man stood and looked seemingly right at Egon. “I never wanted any of this for you but there is witchcraft in your blood” The words jarred Egon awake it was always his mother who spoke those words never his father. As he looked around he saw that it was daylight outside. Everything was quiet and tranquil and to his surprise he could smell breakfast cooking. 

They hadn’t really brought anything with them in terms of groceries but Ray never missed an opportunity to cook, especially breakfast. He sat up on the bed and began to get dressed as he lifted his left arm he realized his wrist was much worse than it had been last night. Although part of it may have been due to the adrenalin of a near death experience. Even outside of where Ray had bandaged it you could see a deep dark bruise had formed and was covering a good portion of his hand and forearm. Once he was dressed he made his way down stairs to the kitchen where ray had the radio blasting out music as he moved around the kitchen. He first turned the radio down and then sat himself down at the table where a cup of coffee was already waiting. Ray wheeled around “morning just in time” he proceeded to place a plate of pancakes on the table accompanied with some eggs and bacon. Ray looked tired as if he had not slept much but, was still his normal chipper self. It seemed like no matter what went wrong he was always in a good mood. The two of them ate in silence both aware of the bags under the others eyes. Finally ray spoke “rough night? Me too i was kinda restless after everything that went down last night. I hope you don't mind I…. well i poked around the study for a bit…..” He waited for a reaction from Egon who just sat there poking at his eggs which he had barely touched. He clearly hadn’t heard a word of what he said “hello, earth to egon. Hey….HEY….” Egon suddenly snapped back to reality “I'm sorry ray what did you say? I spaced out i have a lot on my mind.” He now turned his full attention to Ray. “its ok…. I was just sayin I couldn't sleep last night and i went and looked around the study. I found something you should see.” Egon started at him a moment and shrugged “I guess i should have expected that. You never could wait for a surprise” he chuckled at the thought of how many times Rays excitement had gotten the better of him. He really did lack patience. Sometimes he was like a child at christmas. While he was a little agitated that Ray hadn't waited for him he wasn't angry. He meant well. As they got up to clear the table Ray saw the bruise on his arm.   
“Hey hold on i almost forgot about that. Let's take a look there's a clinic not far if they need to take a look at it we can go and be back in plenty of time.”   
Ray reached for Egons arm knowing he wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of going to a doctor. He once walked around on a broken foot because he disliked the experience so much. He knew before he had the bandage off that it was bad. Nothing could have prepared him for what he found upon taking of the bandage. What he had initially thought was a bruise was something else the skin underneath had turned pitch black and looked as though it was slowly taking over his arm. there was no smell to it and even if there was it couldn't possible be rotten like that in less than 24 hrs. No this was something …. Unnatural. Egon had gone pale looking at it and looked almost like he was going to faint. Maybe there was something in the books they had about it.  
“Well the good news is no clinic….. Bad news I don't know what this is. You’re gonna hate me for this however, can you move it at all?”   
He watched as Egon slowly bent his wrist wincing with each movement. Just as Egon had finished a full rotation of his wrist he felt pain shooting through his body. His vision began to blur and he felt like he was going to vomit. Ray watched as Egon doubled over in pain and noticed the black had now completely covered his hand and had begun to move up his arm. He was desperately trying to keep Egon conscious when he noticed his eyes had rolled back and his body had begun to convulse. He ran to the phone to call an ambulance when just as soon as it had started it was over. Egon was now on the floor still doubled over.  
“Oh my god. Egon! Oh my god, are you O….k” He felt his stomach turn as he saw Egon was vomiting and gagging as bugs, real live bugs were pouring out of his mouth and began scattering all over the floor. The bugs were covered in some sort of black substance that was now flooding across the floor like water. After a few more heaves Egon was done and began to sit up. Looking at the horror all over the floor he turned to Ray.  
“I officially fucking hate this place”   
There were no if ands or butts about it they needed to get out of here but he couldn't leave the books those could be important in helping to figure out what happened just now. 

He got Egon to the couch and gave him a bucket in case he got sick again.  
“Look we gotta get out of here but before we do i need to take some things. I found a book with your family history and I know you hate to hear this but you’re mom was right your family is so deep in witchcraft it isn't even funny. I'm gonna grab the books I can from the study and we are gonna get you home.”  
He laid a hand on his forehead and realized he seemed too cold to the touch. He grabbed the quilt off the bed in his room and tossed it on him. Egon was just sitting there shaking. He wasn't even sure he had actually been listening to a thing he just said but he had to hope he could hear him.   
It took some doing but in an hours time all the books were crammed into the car along with their bags. Now all that was left was to get Egon. Ray came into the living room and found him wrapped in the blanket still but now he was curled up on the couch. He was about to rouse him from what he thought was sleep when he noticed his breathing seems labored and unsteady. As he grabbed his arm to check his pulse he noticed not only was he cold and clammy but his left arm was now completely black and his fingers had become fearsome elongated claws. He grasped at rays arm looking at him pleadingly  
“please leave me here i …….i can't control it any longer i can't keep it from hurting…...hurt…...nooooo”   
he began convulsing again this time he was screaming in agony as the black began to move to the rest of his body staying mostly on the left side. He suddenly heaved forward and began to fill the bucket with the mysterious black substance. Thankfully this time there were no bugs. He wasn't sure if he could take that. Once Egon was done Ray moved him to the car as quickly as possible. He wasn't sure what they could do for Egon but he was fairly certain no hospital could help him now. “ just hang in there buddy i'm takin you home. Just hold on for me.”


	4. Chapter 4

Now that Ray knew the way the trip was much faster. He hoped no one stopped him as he was tearing down the road as fast as he could. Egon looked like he was fighting to keep whatever was moving across him from spreading but it was clear he didn't have much fight left. He pressed his foot harder on the gas praying that at least till they got to the city limits there wasn't a cop around. In ecto 1 he would have had nothing to worry about since many treated it as they would a regular emergency vehicle but he was driving his regular worn station wagon. 

He breathed a slight sigh of relief as he saw the city skyline on the horizon before him. For once it seemed like there wasn't a single car on the streets despite being a saturday afternoon in the spring. He chose to ignore this for now as he needed to focus on bigger things. He arrived at the firehouse to find the ecto was out and winston was sitting at janine's desk. He looked up as Ray pulled his car in. “Oh hey look who it is, Pete just left to get lunch for us i can call and add to the order still if you want.” He saw Ray coming out of the car and could see by the look in his face something wasn't right. “Whoa whoa Ray easy man where's the fire what's going on? Where’s Egon?” He then saw Ray gesture to the back passenger side of the car where Egon was. He looked pale and exhausted. He was breathing as though he had run a marathon. He hadn’t noticed his arm until Ray began to unload him from the car. 

“Shit man what happened to him, does he need a hospital?” Ray shook his head “No , no I can't completely explain it just yet. But this is beyond the help of a hospital. See that black on his arm? That started on his wrist as a regular bruise last night. The today after breakfast all hell broke loose it was like something out of a horror movie. I gotta find a way to keep that from spreading any more. I don't know what it is or what its doing or….What happens if or when it reaches his heart. It doesn't have much to go. What if it kills him.” Winston was starting at the angry black wave moving across parts of his upper body when it hit him. “Ray what about the mood slime? If it can take out Vigo perhaps it can slow this down till we can find a non evil dead solution.” Ray leapt over to him and threw his arms around him. “Winston thank god that's a brilliant idea. I didn't even think of it. This could be a lifesaver. Go get it quick there's some in the lab.”   
In the years since discovering the mood slime they had found that it was incredibly useful in dealing with supernatural contamination to the human body. The only problem was skin contact wasn't going to be enough and he didn't like the idea of injecting it. The only alternative was to make an open wound for the slime. He grabbed the first aid kit and the scalpel inside. He had learned that in their line of work they didn't have time to be ill prepared. He had managed to get Egons shirt off of him but he would definitely need help from Winston for what he was about to do. Winston returned with a jar of pink slime and sat it on the table near Ray. “ok Winston, i'm gonna need you to hold Egon down. I can't give him any type of tranquilizer because i don't know what will happen if I do.” Winston realized what Ray intended to do and grabbed Egon tightly. Ray gently began to slide the scalpel along the border between the invasive black and Egons regular skin. He tried to pull away a little bit but he thankfully didn't have much strength to fight Ray at this point. Once there was a steady slice outlining everything Ray carefully began to place the slime on the line. This was what he knew would be difficult. Egon began to thrash and fight, attempting to pitch his body up off the couch. His screams were horrifying. As Ray finished with the Slime he seemed to calm down a bit before going quiet all together. Winston looked up to see Peter standing in the doorway to the room mouth agape. They hadn't even heard him pull in because the screams were so loud.   
“Anyone care to tell me what the hell kinda exorcist shit i just walked into here? I thought someone was being murdered in here. What are you two doing back and…….what's …...wrong …..that…..” Peter had finally focused his attention to Egons arm or what used to be his arm. What was in its place was not normal nor was it human. He pulled a chair up and sat down by Ray who was checking to make sure Egons heart was still beating and he was still breathing. “Lucy….. You got some splainin to do”


	5. Chapter 5

Morgan was sitting by her fireplace leafing through an old spell book. It had been her mother’s and while she wasn't quite as experienced enough yet to perform some of the spells she had shown a special gift for summoning her mother's familiar. A shadow demon with no name but she called him Humphry. He never objected to it in fact he seemed to enjoy it. Not all of their coven could establish this type of familiar and most settled for the regular options such as cats or mice. Things that could slip inside without being seen. Humphry was a particularly special familiar because his touch was poisonous to any witch or warlock who were not his master. If a shadow demon is summoned for the purpose of being a familiar you must shake hands with them. If they see that you are a worthy master you survive and if not a swift but agonizing death awaits you as he feeds off your magic to grow stronger leaving you an empty husk. She could tell by the way that they left this morning that Humphrys poison was steadily working its way through Egon Spengler. Could it really be this simple to rid the world of him? She had to give him credit she had never heard of anyone being able to stave off that type of poison but he would be gone soon.   
Her sisters were in the city waiting to see what would happen next. She expected them at any time to report that he had succumbed to the poison that evening. It was hours since they left. Her oldest sister had stopped in to tell her that he was back at his home at the firehouse and his screams of agony could be heard from the streets.   
Suddenly Daniel had appeared in front of her fireplace. She stood to greet him and offered him a seat. “Thank you but I will be brief. It seems Mr. Spengler will live to fight another day. The friend that was with him managed to activate without his pathetic knowledge a protection charm left by the late mr and mrs spengler. She was clever i admit leaving the spell in a book she was sure his friend would find. It will take time to find how the charm is deactivated. For now the poison looks to have stopped just shy of his heart.” Before she had time for so much as an answer he was gone again. She kicked the couch in front of her which only resulted in her smashing her own foot in anger. As she growled at the pain Humphry appeared in the room. “Madame I apologize for the failure it seems my connection has been severed somehow. If you wish i can still lurk around him to see what is going on?” She shook her head. “No no that's not necessary my sisters can look into that. It's just…. I thought this would be so simple i mean he isn't even trained to use his magic he has no clue it even exists. I'm just so angry that such a useless maggotty person would be granted such an incredible gift and just….just….” She let out a frustrated growl. She wasn't done with him yet. She would find something to end this and she would spare no expense to make it as miserable as the years after her parents were taken from her. She would spend her last breath on this earth if it meant his destruction. No price was too great to pay after all these years.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still dont own ghostbusters

Peter was looking at the history book Ray handed him as he explained what happened the best that he could. Even he had to admit the details chronicled in its pages were unbelievable. He could also completely understand why Egon didn't seem to have particularly good luck when it came to many supernatural entities they had encountered. He was reminded of two separate occasions where the spirits of witches were holding some sort of grudge against Egon’s family. Despite that he always managed to brush off the possibility that his families stories of magic and witches were actually real. He got to the page with the note Ray had mentioned. Sure enough he immediately recognized Mrs. Spengler's handwriting. He couldn’t help but get a little bit misty eyed reading it.   
“So you’re telling me his parents managed to hide from him that he is possibly the most powerful warlock in the history of his family and now that they are gone all hell is gonna break loose?” Ray nodded his head “Ok then…..what do we need to do??” Ray let out an exhausted sigh. “I really don't know Peter. This is way beyond me i mean we can find something in the books i brought back but i can honestly say we are out of our depth here. I think how we move forward depends on Egon.” 

They had each been taking turns that night watching Egon. Ray didn't tell them about the bugs since they both seemed traumatized enough already by the circumstances. He was hoping they had done the right thing for him. He figured the slime would probably hold for at least a few hours before he had to apply more. Hopefully with Peter there to help it wouldn't be as much of a challenge. Winston was currently keeping an eye on him so that Ray could explain to peter what happened. He didn't have to know the details he just wanted to help. He joined the ghostbusters expecting to find a job He ended up with some of the best friends a guy could ask for and a job unlike any other. He couldn't help but stare at the long dark claw that was once Egons hand. It looked sharp even deadly. How hard was he fighting to keep from using it when he fought back against the mood slime? One swipe and anyone would surely be done for. Suddenly Egon sat up and began fumbling for his glasses. Winston grabbed them and handed them over. “Thanks winston…..wait….. When did i get here…..what time is it.” He was looking around confused. He had no recollection of coming here. He suddenly felt the burning pain on his side looking down he saw the perimeter of mood slime overtop a careful incision. “What the hell is this?!?” He was carefully examining his arm as if it was completely new to him. “You mean you don't remember anything? Man you have had one hell of a day.I'm gonna go grab the guys and tell them you are awake.” Winston left the room just enough to call Peter and Ray in. Egon was staring at his arm. The last thing he remembered was eating or trying to eat breakfast and then Ray unwrapped his wrist to look at it. After that there are just patches of things, pain and fear. Ray and Peter had raced into the room.  
“Hey look who decided to join the party.” Pete joked with him.   
“Man have I got some incredible stuff to tell you Egon but i think you should get some rest. That stuff on your arm i thought was a bruise spread all up your arm. Winston had the great idea of seeing what if anything the mood slime could do. so far it looks to be doing the trick. I'm just gonna put some more on to get you through the night.”   
Ray sat on the side of the bed with a jar of slime and proceeded to scoop some out. The minute it touched his skin he could feel it burn. He went to pull himself away but found both Peter and Winston had a pretty good hold on him especially his hand. His body began to writhe and struggle as Ray carefully applied the slime he felt like his entire body was on fire and he was going to be sick. In a motion that used every muscle in his body and then some he began to gag and sputter finally projectile vomiting god only knows what into the bed. “Whoa whoa i did not sign up to be an extra in theExorcist. Winston I hope you told ray we are charging him for this” 

before he had a chance to move he began to throw up more this time not as violently but it still felt wrong. He glanced down and was horrified to see an assortment of live insects wriggling on the bed. He began to panic desperately wanting to get away from them. Just then he heard Ray give the all clear to let go of him. He looked and saw that both Winston and Peter were drenched in sweat from having to hold him down. He didn't realize he was using that much force. His body hurt all over,especially his throat and stomach. Ray had begun to collect samples from the bed so they could begin cleaning up the mess. 

As soon as there were a few jars of the disgusting liquid and bugs winston shoved the bed sheets in a garbage bag. “Sorry man I don't think anyone wants to try and keep this stuff.” Peter had grabbed Ray by the ear and pulled him outside of the room.   
“Did this happen before?I need to know please tell me you didn't neglect to tell us that Egon was giving his best pazuzu impression.” Ray only lowered his head to look at the floor. “It's just…. I wasn't sure what to tell you and what not to tell you. I'm honestly a little bit scared of it all and i didn't need us to all be afraid of him.” After a swift slap the the back of his head peter placed his hand on Rays shoulder. “Look we have seen far too much shit together to be keeping life or death type secrets. I hate to point out something obvious but perhaps we need to consult a professional in this. I mean we could see about…..an exorcist…..I know it sounds crazy but hey what have we got to lose except of course Egon. There are other options buuuut i think He wants that arm still.” He saw Ray manage a small chuckle. He had to admit this was a rather upsetting situation but they weren’t the only people know for dealing with the supernatural. For just this one time maybe it would be a good idea to consult someone else.

“Tell ya what I will go and talk to some people tomorrow, you do your thing and research this. See if it's happened before and if there's a better way to stop it. I don't think Egons gonna be too nice for the next round of mood slime.”   
Ray had to agree with him there. The power that Egon exhibited during the second application was significantly more violent than before. By the morning he would probably be nearly impossible. For now they agreed it was a good idea for everyone to get some rest and hope for some answers in the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

Peter quietly left the firehouse before everyone else was awake. He had an idea of who he could go speak to but he wasn't sure he was gonna like it. He carefully looked at the address in his hand it wasn’t far a 2 block walk. After a few minutes he arrived at a small shop a rickety sign hung above the door Hezlings: Oddities The shop was currently run by Leena Hezling an old girlfriend of Peters from college. They broke up after some very different opinions on what was real and what was not. He felt almost embarrassed to have to come to her but he had a feeling she may know what they could try. As he carefully opened the shop door he peaked around the corner only to be met abruptly with a crossbow. He Quickly jumped back hands raised “whoa whoa whoa I know our breakup was not pleasant but i didn't think it called for that!!” A woman stepped out from around the corner the bow still raised. She looked tired but surprised. “Peter? Peter venkman? What in the world could you possibly be doing here?come to apologize because you were wrong about something? Or do you think i would just forget how rude you were to me just like that because my life couldn't possibly be complete without the great Peter Venkman to give it meaning. Well Are you just gonna stand there or say something.” He was taken aback by her “warm welcome” sensing it wasn’t completely his fault she was so on edge.   
“I'm actually here……..because i need your help…...there's something wrong with my friend. I think you can help him and if not you would be able to do what is necessary to keep everyone safe. It was no easy decision but I put myself aside for this one. Let’s just say I saw some things last night that may have changed my mind on some things.” She slowly lowered the bow and the went to the door and cautiously looked outside. She locked it and drew the curtains. “Lets go to the parlor.” She took one last look around as if she half expected someone else to be in the room. It made him uneasy but what other choice did he have. 

 

Leena’s parlor looked like something from the addams family. Cases with skulls were perched on shelves various tapestries and pelts of unknown creatures hung on the walls. She sat down and began to pour herself a drink.She offered some to Peter.  
“Jeez i know we used to party but it's 8am, I think you need to re-evaluate your line of work if it drives you to this” She rolled her eyes and shrugged at him   
“I do what I need to besides you have no room to lecture anyone about anything. So what brought you here today, what's wrong with your friend” She gave him a skeptical look suggesting she still didn't believe he was there for her help.   
He didn’t blame her. He wasn’t exactly the best person when she last knew him but many things had changed his life for the better and he wasn’t saying he was perfect but he wasn't the worst person out there.  
“Look it's complicated I honestly don’t understand it completely mostly because Ray seems to have withheld some details. I came home yesterday to find what seemed like a scene from a horror movie going on at the firehouse and it only got worse from there. Thankfully strange noises are often heard from our building so i don't think anyone noticed but I wish i could bleach what i saw from my brain. I have never seen a human being vomit like that and i have after all been to a frat party.” She had been patiently listening to him ramble on about what seemed like nothing until he had gotten to the part of the story about vomit. Her eyes narrowed “Do...you think your friend is...possessed?I mean it sort of sounds like it but you said you don't have all the information? Where is your friend now? Can we see him?”   
She had begun a rapid fire of questions that he could barely answer before the next one was asked. He wasn’t sure what the trigger was but he knew he had her attention. She was now furiously moving around the room packing various items into a large bag. She was talking so fast he could hardly understand her in her excitement. After a few moments she turned to him a large book in her hands and unfortunately her crossbow at her back.   
“Let's go see your friend i should have this wrapped up by noon we can discuss payment once the job is done, you all do have insurance on the building right?” She had practically raced him to the door extremely over eager to dig into this problem. Somehow he felt like he was going to regret this decision more than most of his decisions.


	8. Chapter 8

Ray had been pouring through books that he had taken from the house there was so much information and yet nothing even remotely matching what he had seen over the past 2 days. He could hear Egon up and moving in the bunk room and was well aware that he had been pacing since about 7:30 when Peter had quietly slipped out the firehouse door. Winston was doing his best to help look and was periodically asking for more information so he could find something anything to help. Ray was anxiously looking at the clock on the wall. Soon it would be time to apply another layer of mood slime and he really needed Peter to be here to help however he could. Just then Egon walked into the room and quietly took a seat at the table littered with books. He looked tired and ill. He hadn’t eaten since friday evening and that was most likely taking a bigger toll on him that anything else. Winston passed him a cup of coffee “wanna help go through these books? We have been at this for a few hours and still nothing. The stacks on the floor have already been checked. These are incredible like something out of a museum.” Winston was just about to turn the page when Egon saw the thing from the neighbors porch, the thing from his dream. “WAIT there what's that. That thing thats what i saw on the porch. That's what attacked me in the kitchen that's what i saw in my nightmares.” Ray grabbed the book from Winston and read the brief entry outloud. “Shadow demon, often times summoned as a familiar to aid dark and desperate witches and warlocks. If one wishes to utilize this powerful familiar they must first grasp hands to be determined worthy. If they fail the touch of the demon is fatal and they will be consumed by an agonizing death. The same goes for any other person who comes in contact with the creature. Avoid at all costs. Most are unable to summon and control the creature, the last known wielder of this familiar Tara Daughter of Kestrel.”   
They were all familiar with Kestrel as they had dealt with her ghost a few years ago on a job. A vengeful witch who turned her whole self over to be all powerful which was ultimately her undoing as she also sacrificed a corporeal form. None of them had been aware that Kestrel even had family and if they were still around they would have to be hundreds of years old. “Egon, did you say you saw this ….in your dreams? Also if this thing is so poisonous how are you even alive? Not that I want you dead but perhaps what you saw only looked like this?”   
He was about to tell them about the dream when the door opened up and Pete stepped in. “gentlemen this is Leena Hezling I think she can help with our problem.”   
Following behind him was a rather rough looking woman. They were all immediately drawn to the crossbow at her back. Noticing this she shrugged “it's a bad neighborhood no one messes with me this way. So whos got the problem?” They all looked over at Egon who had begun to walk out if the room quickly. Ray hopped up from his seat “Good idea Egon lets take this to the other room.” He turned to Lenna and winked and quickly grabbed onto Egon’s shoulders. “We don’t have a choice here. If peter trusts her then so do I.” He nodded and sat himself down on the couch which was covered in an old sheet in the event of any other messy incidents. They were quickly joined by the others. Leena stepped forward to Egon. “Oooooook what have we got here ...oh my god you look so much like him…..” They were all looking a her. “It can't possibly be…. Are….you …. Edwins son?”   
He looked at her confused “how…..how do you know my father?” She gleefully clapped her hands together “ooo this is so exciting my family used to do work with your dad. I was with him on one of his last jobs. Those were some good days but we will talk more about that later lets see what the issue is here. Hello…...what the fuck is that….Is THAT YOUR HAND??!!”   
Her attention had been drawn to the long claws where his fingers used to be. She sat her bag down and began to unpack things rummaging through for something particular. “I need you to take your shirt off hon. I need to see the whole arm. This should be a simple fix.” As he removed his shirt she saw the incision coated in a light layer of pink slime  
“annnnnd what the hell is this? This isn't coming from you is it? Ew its slimy.” She lightly brushed her finger over some of the slime and was now wiping it on her pants leg.  
“Oh um that's mood slime. It was the only thing that kept whatever that is from spreading. He only had a small part on his wrist as of friday night and it was purple not black.” she looked around the incision which ran vertically up and down his left side. “I see…… i mean it seems like it had done a fair job but you seriously can't expect to keep him with a damp open wound forever. He's like a walking petri dish in this way. I thought ghostbusters were supposed to be smart.”   
She reached for his hand which he quickly pulled away afraid to let her touch it after what had happened last night. She reached forward, “its ok i'm not gonna cut it off i just want a look at it. I'm gonna try something if it works, which it should, we will have ya fixed up in no time.”   
She turned back to her bag and produced a bottle with what looked like water in it an a dropper. She carefully filled the dropper and moved it over Egons arm. She let a few drops fall onto his arm. As they made contacts he could feel his skin burn momentarily and then stopped leaving behind several small spots where the skin had returned to normal. Leena quickly hopped up from her seat. “Perfect. Easy peasy. Now then we will need some towels.” Peter grabbed a few for her from the kitchen she proceeded to pour the substance from the bottle all over them. Something about them made the hairs on Egons neck stand up and his heart race. He didn't know why but he had the urge to leave now. 

Ray had been watching Egons body language and noticed an immediate change when Leena had begun to dowse the towels. He nodded to peter and winston and they all immediately took hold of him before he even had a chance to move. Leena cocked her head confused by the sudden reaction “we good here?”   
Ray nodded “we will be. This is generally the part where things take a page from the Exorcist. No matter what don't stop until you are done.”   
She had dealt with cases similar to this before she had no doubt that they were overreacting but then again they had never dealt with the likes of this before. Although she had to admit she had never seen a possession take bodily form starting with the arm. It was normally head to toe but perhaps the broken wrist was the easiest point of entry. “Ok all i'm going to do is wipe everything down with these towel it will probably sting for a little bit but you will be fine.” He had begun to squirm and try to get away as she moved towards him with the first damp towel. “Oh come on you don't need to be a big baby about this you’re a Ghostbuster i'm sure you’ve been through worse.” As she laid the towel on his forearm Egon began to fight even harder. Despite how tired he looked he was still putting up quite a fight with the three men holding him best they could in place. Remembering what Ray had said she continued with the next towel. As she went to place it down overlapping with the first Egon had freed his right arm from peters grasp and grabbed her by the wrist. He was closing his hand around her wrist with near bone crushing force. He proceeded to bring her closer to his face. His eyes were dark and hollow they were not his   
“I will have this life. You can only delay the inevitable. His fate will be that of many who came before him.”   
With one last squeeze Leena could feel her wrist shatter. Peter managed to pry him off of her but the damage had been done. Egon began to scream as the black that was over taking his skin returned to the areas Leena had thought she fixed. It then began to spread further across his body until a direct sharp line hit his chest over top is heart. The black on his hand quickly receded following the line to his heart leaving behind it a normal human hand and a very broken looking wrist. Egon who was still wriggling and screaming on the couch was suddenly very still. Leena could see his breathing was shallow and he had almost no color. This was nothing like she was told. This was something else. He was going to die and she didn't even know why.   
She turned to Ray “Quickly tell me what happened when this started I need to know where he has been.I need to know now he's going to die if i dont know whats going on.”   
Suddenly Egon let out a sharp gasp followed by gagging “oh god not this again get the bucket peter. Winston go grab that book show Leena what he pointed out, show her what I saw.”


	9. Chapter 9

Morgan paced around to room. Humphry had found his connection with Egon again and was off to hopefully end this. She had sent her sisters to watch as best as they could. The longer Humphry was gone the more she wondered if he had been somehow destroyed. She hated this, the anticipation was enough to make her sick. Suddenly her eldest sister Lenore was in the room. “I don't think it will be much longer now. I will say his friends are helping him put up quite the fight. It's almost admirable but ultimately useless. I'm not sure how he made it this long but i can pretty much promise you that tonight is Egon Spengler's last night on this miserable planet. We will have finally avenged our family and all those who were lost to them.I will return when we are sure it is done” Lenore disappeared leaving her to wait alone again.   
She still remembers the night she saw her mother die. Swallowed up and locked away into the earth itself. She would never be able to forgive them. She didn't care that they lost someone too it didn't make up for the family she had lost over the centuries. Now with him gone they could return to their ways. Humans would know to fear those who were superior to them. No longer did they need to pretend there was no such thing as witches. The world would take note and it would regret.


	10. Chapter 10

At the firehouse all hell had broken loose as Egon had resumed the “normal” ritual of violent projectile vomiting. Winston had given Leena the book still opened to the page Egon pointed out. As she looked at the page she grew pale and quiet.   
“I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do for him now. There's no known case of any one person surviving this with the exception of those who are deemed worthy. Although I am interested in how he's been able to survive this long. Normally this kills in minutes never days. Is there anything else you found there?” Ray hesisted then went to his room and grabbed to book with the family history and leafed through to the back page. “This appeared the night we went to the house. I cut my hand and suddenly there it was. I think I was meant to find it since well… there's a note for me in it.”   
She surveyed the book for a moment. When she looked up there was a renewed sense of hope on her face.   
“Looks like we aren't done yet boys. You see this last note its a protective spell or decree more like. Most witches and warlocks are a bit egotistical and fail to think of the inevitability of death buuut looks like his mother was well aware of what would happen when she finally passed. See this is a particularly powerful spell if bestowed upon a regular guardian but she was smart she purposefully pick two people who meant the most to her son. She saw how strong a friendship you had and she knew just what to do with it. Our only shot now is to find this familiars witch before that poison wears Egon down. If we can destroy the witch or warlock we can stop the familiar, that said now that the poison is trying to stop his heart I don't know what kinda time we are dealing with. If you are absolutely sure about what you saw could you take me there?” Ray nodded. She quickly got up to grab her bag. Egon seemed to be finished for now and she took that opportunity to investigate just what he had been expelling from his body. As she knelt down to investigate the contents of the bucket she noticed it had a putrid smell that burned her nose. She reached in her bag and grabbed a vial and proceeded to carefully catch some of the substance inside. As she was examining it she was surprised to see there were bugs inside the bucket. She looked up at Peter. “Did he throw up bugs? Is this what he has been vomiting?” Peter nodded as her. She knew her demons well enough to know that when they were dying bugs are not an uncommon occurrence. This demon was expending more energy trying to kill Egon than he was actually getting from him. With any luck he may kill himself before Egon.   
She finished packing her bag up and let out a whistle. “Well guys like it or not we are in this to the end. So let's load up and go kill ourselves a witch” Ray watched as she proceeded to shoot finger guns into the air. She suddenly winced as she realized that her wrist had been pretty much broken. In the adrenaline of the moment she hardly noticed. Ray hurried over to her “hows about we get a splint on that wrist first. Pretty sure we need you in mostly working order for this mission.” He guided her back to the kitchen where he proceeded to tenderly bandage her wrist. “So… um you make a living…..doing what?” He desperately tried to make some small talk with her to relieve some of the awkwardness. Leaning her chin on her other hand she smiled. “ Well i actually run an oddities shop about 2 blocks from here I dont know if you have heard of it , Hezlings Oddities? I do offer my special services for a fee but jobs are few and far between most days. Gals gotta eat ya know” He smiled. He was familiar with the shop. He had never been in it but he knew of it. He just hadn't realized she might be the namesake of the store. “I run a bookstore nearby, Ray’s Occult.” She laughed “oh you’re the wacko thats allowing the kids to have their edgy little clubs at your store. You have been giving plenty other shops a run for their money quite literally. Most don't want to let a bunch of teens anywhere near their collections but you just went whole hog with the idea”  
She was now laughing hysterically as Ray began to feel embarrassed for even talking to her. Catching sight of that she continued. “No really it's not a bad thing it’s just,well most people in our fields of interest know how dangerous just a little bit of knowledge can be especially to kids who think they know it all. I mean you have your heart in the right place just maybe not your judgment.”   
He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. He had loved learning about the occult and the supernatural his entire life and no one encouraged him. He would have killed for his parents to take even a tenth of an interest in his hobbies that they did with his siblings. He chuckled softly, “I might be playing with fire but if they wanna learn why not have it be in a safe place. You wouldn't want a kid to get their hands on something and accidentally bring about the end of the world would you?” He finished wrapping her wrist and stood up gesturing to the doorway so they could get moving. Peter had watched the two of them and smiled. They were a good fit for each other.

The ecto was now loaded up with books and gear to take with them. They decided they couldn't risk leaving Egon alone in his condition. Not knowing how long they would be gone Ray left a note for Janine who would be in for work on monday morning and switched the answering machine to their away message. It has been a bit of a dry spell, hopefully it held out just a little bit longer for them. Winston started up Ecto 1 and Ray hit the bay door button. As the ecto went tearing out of the old firehouse Lenore and her sisters watched it leaving. One of the sisters gave the nearby trashcan a swift kick. “Oh why won't he just DIE. Morgan said he would be dead by now.” Lenore places a hand on her sisters shoulder. “My dear they are headed straight for home. Perhaps we should give them a welcome party.” The three began to cackle loudly and were then gone.

 

Sirens blaring Winston was driving as fast as possible with ray giving directions. Leena was in the backseat with Peter in case Egon had any other issues before they got there. He was fighting to stay awake. He could feel his body slowly trying to preserve itself by shutting down less important functions. He didn't want to admit it but he was fairly certain he was dying. He couldn’t even muster up the energy to speak to his friends. His chest felt like it was being battered from all sides as his lungs and heart struggled to keep up with his body's demand for blood and oxygen. He knew he wasn’t going to last much longer he wasn’t sure if they knew that too.   
Peter was periodically checking to make sure Egon had a pulse. He and Ray had already agreed that it would come to a point where he would need to more or less give Egon a jump start. He was fairly certain they were pretty much there since He barely had a pulse. He just needed him to hold on a little bit longer. He noticed Leena was fussing with the vial of black fluid which was now separated between several vials. She was mixing each one with other substances from her bag and noting what they did as each was added. She would occasionally make little squeals of delight when something happened in the vials.   
After what seemed like forever they arrive in a dark almost eerie neighborhood in front of an old Victorian house. Ray could feel his heart pounding in his ears. He had never been so afraid to be here. He just hoped maybe they could end this and not lose Egon.   
They quickly got him into the house and began to unload what they needed from the car. As they came back into the room Winston was walking around the couch where Egon was and could be seen pouring a bottle of salt on the ground behind him. It appeared he had already gone around a few times to ensure a thick line. Peter shook his head “do you honestly think that old wives tale works man? I mean seriously we wouldn't be in business if they did.”   
Winston rolled his eyes and shrugged. He had seen far too much in the few years he was with them to take chances, especially after what he saw yesterday and today. “Look better safe than sorry man.”  
Leena had just walked back in the room followed with Ray and the last few things. She noticed the salt and walked over. “Ooooo nobody told me was had a white witch in our presence. Who put down the salt ring good thinking.”   
Peter nodded his head back at Winston. “His idea. I told him i don’t think that’s honestly gonna work but ya know i'm just a scientist what do i know.”   
She walked passed ignoring Peter. “Well it should help. no other familiars can reach him. And really no other witch unless they are extremely powerful it's the little things ya know or as they say, the devil's in the details, pun totally intended” She gave a little cackle and winked turning back to Peter. “You , after all you have seen still cant believe me huh? It's a pity really. You were the first person i had actually had fun with in like 40 years.” They all looked at her confused.  
“Um excuse me what? I was 22 when we met in college where you told be you were also 22 by my math that's 20ish years short of your implied life span.” She clicked her tongue and cooed softly “oooo did I say 22 i may have meant 152 yea see my family is a very unique agreement with the powers that be. We aren't magic users so we don't have long lifespans but because we provide extermination services that others normally don't we had the advantage of a slightly longer life span. So yea i guess you are looking at the best looking 164 year old you have seen in awhile.” Ray fumbled the books in his hands sending them scattering on the floor and began to hurriedly pick them back up. Leena had now walked over to help him collect the books happily bouncing around the floor to grab them. Pete chuckled to himself. They really did look perfect for each other. And she could definitely handle Ray’s quirks and he didn't seem too bothered by the fact that she was apparently much older than he previously thought. The world does tend to work in mysterious ways.


	11. Chapter 11

Lenore and her sisters had appeared in the room in an uncharacteristically clumsy manor nearly knocking over a small table in the room upon appearance. Lenore stepped forward quickly “we haven’t much time they are headed back here, they know they need to destroy you to break the familiars hold they have help, Ms. Hezling has somehow been brought in and you know she would gladly have any or all of our heads on her wall.” Morgan had a feeling something was wrong. Her connection to Humphrey was faint and she felt ill. She knew he was literally killing himself trying to complete his mission and because they were still bonded it was taking a fair toll on her. She could barely sit up let alone stand from the couch. She had been feeding him energy for days in the hopes this would all be over but earlier today she felt pain and agony like never before. She felt fear and failure at this rate her fate would be the same as Egon’s. She promised to give her last breath but now that is was a possibility she wasn’t so sure she wanted to sacrifice that much.  
Lenore sat next to her and stroked her head and gently began to play with her hair. “Oh little one you have come so far but you have a choice, sever your bond with your familiar and live to find vengeance or perish with him in the hopes you will take Spengler with you. No one will be disappointed with whatever you choose but remember once severed you will never be able to have a shadow demon familiar ever again.”   
Morgan didn’t care. She wanted to live. She needed to live, she refused to be another casualty to the Spengler name. Lenore Nodded her head. “Nicole, Theresa, come we must sever the link between Morgan and her familiar and we must work quickly.” As they were in the middle of working to break the connection they heard the arrival of a car next door. They were here. There was no time to lose if they did not complete this Morgan would be a sitting duck and a dead one at that. There was no telling what would happen once the connection was broken but they were only worried about Morgan.


	12. Chapter 12

Egon found himself standing in darkness. He could hear everyone around him talking planning moving around but he just couldn't see anything. Was he still asleep? No he didn’t feel like he was sleeping. He felt lost but also like he was being tethered to something. Outside of that he felt nothing. Suddenly all around him began to rumble and shake the darkness around him drew back leaving him standing in what almost looked like an antique drawing room. His attention was quickly drawn to a couch where 3 women were joined hand in hand surrounding a fourth on the couch. He quickly recognized her has the woman from next door. Why was he here. Was he actually in the room with them or was he seeing things like dreaming? “Hello? Um…. what's going on? Why am i here” No one answered. They clearly couldn’t hear him or just didn't wish to answer him. Either way he was there watching the strange ritual happening before him. The women all separated leaving what looked to be the oldest of them standing over the woman on the couch. Egon was horrified to see she had a large knife held above her head. He could see her mouth moving but no noise was coming out. In one quick movement she had plunged the dagger deep into the gut of the woman on the couch. The minute it plunged into her skin he felt a wave of cold wash over him followed by pain. His heart was pounding so hard he felt it was going to explode. The room was fading fast. He suddenly snapped awake letting out a sharp gasp that surprised everyone in the room around him.   
They all rushed over to him Peter began to check his vitals. “Wow your heart sounds like you have been running a marathon. Where did that come from. We were almost ready to plan a funeral here.” He knew everyone was worried but he felt so crowded and his whole body ached. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lady from earlier, Leena he thought she said, was now moving everyone away.   
“Ok ok we are all happy he’s alive but he needs space and we honestly gotta figure what happened. Ray you guys go make sure all windows are shuttered and locked. If anyone's is coming in we are gonna know about it.” As he looked around he realized they were at his mother's house. How long had they been there? he wondered. Everyone was gone from the room except he and Leena.   
“Well you are practically back from the dead. I think it's safe to assume that witch severed her connection with her familiar. Desperate creatures they are. Always dramatic enough to swear on their dying breath but never brave enough to follow through. Well that might complicate things on the witch front but let’s worry about you for now. Sorry love i'm about to do some things Ray mentioned you do not like.” She produced a syringe from her bag and placed it on the table along with a few vials of different colored liquid. He could see where this was going but he was too tired to fuss. He winced as she mixed the vials together and then filled the syringe with them. He hated needles but then again who liked them,well, he could think of a few but that was beside the point. Whatever was in the vials burned as it made contact he suddenly felt flushed and nauseous. Leena quickly grabbed a bucket. “Yup just as I thought. They severed the familiars bond and he died. Sorry this is the last time for this i promise.” As he hoped she was right he once again began to gag and cough out the disgusting black substance however this time it wasn’t as forceful or bug filled. He honestly felt like it was finally over. Leena patted his back a little too forcefully. “Ok well you are still down for the count and I'm fairly certain we have company coming riiiiight abooooooooout……..NOW!” Without warning the house shook as the front door came blasting in. Three women and a somewhat older gentleman entered the house as the others came clamoring down the stairs to see what the noise was.

The gentlemen stepped forward. Raising his arms to greet the room   
“Ah it's good to be back in this house again. And these must be the Ghostbusters we have all heard so much about. My the Spengler family just can't help but police any manner of creature can they and this time you cant even be bothered to use the magic that is pretty much wasted on you. Well far be it from me to tell you how to have lived your life. Now do we really need this many casualties? You can all leave now forget Mr. Spengler and live your lives to their fullest.” 

He stepped to the side and gestured to the open doorway behind him but no one moved. They all stood proton packs drawn. The idea of using them in this situation was not prefered but Ray had been scanning the area and believed that due to the spectral energies dark magic called forward to the user they were able to be trapped just as ghosts were. Dark magics required the user to relinquish their humanity they were now on another plane of existence, that said not all magic users would be effected or at least he hopped since Egon, who most definitely had magical energies whether he acknowledged it or not, gave of no readings for spectral energies but these four before him the meter was going nuts. He just hoped his theory was right otherwise they were gonna have some angry people to answer to. By now they had all assembled in a line making sure the only way anyone got to Egon was through them. He didn't want this, he wasn’t going to see his friends killed because they were too stubborn to pick their battles. As hard as it was he rose from the couch and walked forward.  
“Look i don’t know who any of you are but i'm fairly certain I have done nothing to bother you. I can’t help what those before have done but I was never there. The only witch I can personally say I have wronged is Kestrel and she made the first move to antagonize me, She tried to possess me, but at that point she was merely a ghost no longer a breathing thriving human being. I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement here that doesn’t result in ANY casualties.”   
Before he even knew what was happening he felt himself lifted and moved backwards until he was pinned to the wall. One of the women had him by the neck her other hand pressed firmly against his chest. “How dare you come here and try to tell us how we should feel about a family that would sooner kill us then look at us.” She was pressing even harder he could barely breathe. Winston took a step forward to try and do something but was stopped by one of the others.   
Without so much as a warning Peter had flipped the proton pack on sending a stream directly at the woman holding Egon up. It didn't do much on its own but it was able to pull her off of him. She easily shook off the stream and angrily kicked at the chair near her sending it toppling end over end a few times before the wall stopped it. She proceeded to let out a wail that was deafening to anyone nearby. The sound rang throughout the house shattering window panes and glass photo frames. Peter and winston managed to both get a stream around her and ray quickly slid the trap out sending her wailing and shrieking as she was pulled inside. The gentleman stood bewildered. One of the women shrunk back and squawked “Ddddd...ddd...Daniel…. They….. Lenore…. Where is she where did she go….. How……..”   
Ray almost felt bad for her. She honestly seemed shocked and frightened. He couldn’t exactly blame her. Leena placed her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t feel sorry for her, Remember what you have been through the last 3 days. She made her bed when she came here.”  
Still he felt like they deserved one last warning. After all it was clear they underestimated the power of their tools.  
“Last chance, you can leave now no one else has to end up like lenore. This isn’t our favorite option but it beats losing our frie-”   
With a flick of his hand Daniel had sent Ray flying back through the wall near Egon. The old house shook and creaked at the sudden shock of losing a good portion of what they hoped for wasn't a load bearing wall.   
Once the dust settled Egon could see Ray wasn’t moving. He hated to think it but there was almost no way he could have survived that and if he did…..well who knows what shape he was in. He scrambled over to him throwing bits of wood and wall to the side. He was still breathing but a Egon could see a large piece of the wall was lodged in his back. He couldn’t safely move him but if he stayed there too long he was surely done for. Daniel now stepped closer to them. With the other two women behind him. In a puff of black smoke he was suddenly gone and now stood over Egon who was desperately trying to make sure Ray was ok  
. “Ok there buster, you saw what we did to your friend, you lay a hand on him and you won't be much better off.”   
He laughed but never turned to look at winston or peter who had their packs pointed straight at him. He continued forward placing his whole hand over Egons head.  
“You let's talk, the girls can handle your friends” Before the stream even got close he and Egon were gone in a puff of smoke.   
Their attention was quickly drawn to Leena yelling “Heads up” but it was too late. The smaller woman had launched herself at Peter knocking him on the ground trying to pry the proton wand away from him. He tightened his grip knowing this was his life line. She was kicking and punching trying to get him to let go until finally she sank her teeth into his arm.he loosened one hand on the wand but that gave him a split second to adjust and have it pointed straight at her chest. She froze looking from him to the wand at her chest. As He went to pull the trigger he realized he had forgotten about the other woman who at this point had winston pinned to the wall and a large dagger at his throat. “I can't wait to see what we can harvest from your corpses” she cackled and locked eyes with peter then with Leena who stood crossbow drawn as her. They had a good old fashioned mexican standoff on their hands but unbeknownst to the witches they planned for this.  
The entire time they had failed to notice leena had been testing out their new and improved smaller proton pack. While it was intended for jobs in small areas it also proved to be an excellent backup strategy. Leena Quickly dropped her bow to the floor however once she had done this rather than keep on Winston the witch flung herself forward sending the dagger into Leena's stomach.  
“Ooooo look what i’ve caught myself, I might not have my hands on Spengler but the great Leena Hezling is a pretty good consolation prize.”   
Leena slumped into a heap on the floor. Peter Quickly fired the pack at the witch who had him pinned to the floor. At close range it seemed to only take one stream or she was a very pitiful witch who couldn't fight it. Either way Winston was quickly ready with a trap and with the push of the pedal she was gone, leaving only one.   
“You may have managed to get Lenore and Nicole but i think you will find i am neither weak nor am I over taken by my ego.” She began muttering curses and hurling debris at them all the while easily dodging their stream. She was right this wasn’t going to be as easy as the others.


	13. Chapter 13

It was cold and dark. The whole place made him feel as if he wanted to run as far away as possible never to look back. Suddenly the room was illuminated by a fireplace. He saw that he was sitting in a living room somewhat modern but still somehow out of place. Daniel took a seat in the chair near him and extended his hand.

“Pardon my rudeness, I am Daniel. I'm sure you don't recall meeting me you were only an infant at the time. I’ll get to the point, I think we can help each other. See you don't want to follow your family's legacy and Me well i would love to be rid of any magic user from the Spengler family. You seem like a reasonable man,intelligent, logical. My problem is this, Our kind is bound to this little village you see. For centuries it has been a way for any dark magic users and their families to be kept in check. We can leave but only for a short time nothing permanent and it's so exhausting to be limited on how much fun you can have. You’ve seen the world out there. Hundreds of mortals a day totally willing to surrender themselves to us but we are powerless to do anything about it. Think of it as providing a service. We can give them what they want. We are happy they are happy. All you have to do is relinquish your magic to me. I mean it’s not like you use it or even want it for that matter. Hell your parents never even told you about it to begin with. Doesn’t that make you angry? Such a big secret and you had to find out through some random job? Do we have a deal?”   
He agreed that he didn't particularly want anything to do with magic but he also knew no good could come of giving it up to someone who was very clearly dangerous.   
“No, I may not like it or really want it but my parents clearly knew I needed it. It would be an insult to my father if I were to just throw it away.”  
Daniel let out a low growl and suddenly had Egon pulled close to him by his shirt.   
“You want to play stupid boy, fine. Your families little protection spell makes it impossible for you to be killed by dark magic but it doesn't make you immune. You will suffer in ways no one has ever known you will beg for death, you will beg for me to take your burdens away from you.” Grey smog began to flood from Daniels mouth beside him formed a figure not unlike the one from friday night but somehow it was worse it was more menacing more sinister. He realized that Daniel had completely disappeared leaving only this thing before him. He clambered to get away. If he was in a living room then wherever he was clearly had a door. Just as he found if he felt something tear at his leg and drag him back. The menacing figure dangled him by his leg and laughed tauntingly  
. “Oooooh what's the matter, you don't like my true form? This is what raw power looks like. Magic beyond your wildest dreams and simplest comprehensions. I gave myself to the darkness and the darkness rewarded my sacrifice. I live between worlds neither warlock or demon completely untouchable, I AM A GOD! You will learn to cower before me as I break you and free all dark magic from this limited and pathetic existence you have doomed us to. We were destined to rule the world never to bow before mortal men We are the greater evolution we are the predators and they are they prey. We always have been and always will be.”   
He drew one of his sharp claws crossed his own skin leaving it with a coating of what Egon could only begin to imagine was blood. He struggled to release his leg from Daniels grip. He was exhausted and losing the energy to do so fast. He had been running on pure adrenaline until now. He could hear words being spoken as the earth rumbled around them.  
“ You will learn to see as i do or you will be consumed by the pain and madness of those unfit to understand. Darkness rewards wholehearted sacrifice with a new life. It punishes fear and resistance with death and for you that death will never come because of your stupid mother.”  
He drew his arm back and in a swift motion plunged the same claw he cut himself with into Egons Heart. 

 

When He woke up they were back at the house just as Peter and Winston had managed to wrap the last remaining witch in proton streams however they were out of traps.  
“Aw shit man I thought you had more traps where are they”   
Both of them were frantically searching around for any available traps. Just as the witch was about to break loose a trap slid in the center of the room. Opening up to drag the witch in. The both looked over to see Ray pulling himself out of the wall Debris. His proton pack laid in pieces on the ground shattered by a small portion of the wall which was embedded in the metal plate from the backboard of the pack. If not for that he would surely have been dead. Egon looked around for daniel but he was gone. Winston spotted him and ran over  
“Hey man when did you get back what happened with that guy?” He shook his head. “I don’t know and I don’t care.”   
He saw Ray kneeling beside Leena who was in a heap on the floor. He could see the blood around her. She may have a longer lifespan but she certainly wasn’t immortal. Ray tenderly laid his hand on her. To his and everyone else's surprise she sat up as if nothing had happened.  
“I fuckin hate that.” She grumbled pulling the dagger from her stomach “It hasn’t killed me before it won’t kill me now.”   
She saw Ray Knelt beside her. She blushed a bit and slowly pulled herself up from the ground “Oh you thought i was dead, how sweet. No one's ever really been sad about that before. Honestly I thought you yourself were a goner for sure. Looks like your silly toys proved their worth today”   
She extended a hand for him to get up. Peter looking around smiled  
“well looks like we are all here in one piece. What say we blow this taco stand and go get some chinese food.” While it was a great idea Ray couldn’t help wonder how it was just over so easily. Perhaps he just missed something and should be thankful they were all safe.   
Egon has happy at the idea of going home. He never recalled being so miserable in this house ever in his life. He was tired and his head was aching. As he went to follow them out the door Leena suddenly jerked him back inside the house. She immediately tore his shirt open to reveal the mark of what looked like a skull over his heart.   
“You know he isn’t done with you right?” She asked in a low whisper.   
“The only way out is to learn your magic. Understand it otherwise his darkness will consume you and it will be a miserable existence until you ask him end it. Do you understand me? You are a danger to yourself and others if you don't handle this. I will leave it to you to tell them when you are ready but It would be wise to do so soon.”  
He nodded his head and proceeded to stand the front door to his house back up and locked the door. He knew he would have to deal with this eventually but for now he wanted normalcy or at least something close to it.   
Egon couldn't help but think about what had happened to him. His attention was drawn back to the mark on his chest. Maybe he could still survive by ignoring it. It had been hours and nothing had happened so far. He didn't really want to get involved with magic and felt he could withstand the temptations of “dark powers beyond comprehension”.   
If he hadn’t been tempted by Peters constant get rich quick schemes he was pretty sure he could resist anything. He drifted off to sleep happy and safe in his own bed. Ray had been waiting for Egon to fall asleep. While in the restaurant Leena had passed Ray a note asking him to check on Egon and look at the mark to see if the books he collected had anything in them about it. He knew once Egon was asleep nothing could wake him up making it easier to check what she was talking about. He carefully crept into the room gently stepping past a few piles of books and files Egon had stacked around. He moved the covers aside and opened Egons night shirt just enough. He saw the dark skull shape mark above his heart just like Leena had said. He quickly sketched a general picture of it keeping the details fresh in his mind the best that he could. He buttoned his shirt back and crept out of the room.   
He started with the book where Winston found the page with the demon that started this all. There was nothing in that particular volume that matched what he was looking for. He was searching through books for what seemed like hours when he finally found the skull symbol. Other than that the page was mostly blank it seemed much like the first problem most did not survive this particular incident very often. It was a curse of corruption. You either learned to control it or you fell to it there was no in between. He didn't like the sound of it but for now that was a problem for the morning.


	14. Chapter 14

When Morgan woke up her sisters had not returned. She was not sure how long she had been asleep for. She was so drained from humphry. Her heart sank a little. She hated the idea that she so willingly sacrificed him to save herself but she also wanted to live her life as long as she could. She saw out the window that the car next door was gone. What had happened? Did they flee? Was it all over? No, it couldn’t be. If it were over she knew her sisters would be back unless...maybe it was over for them.   
The thought scared her. It angered her. She should have been there with them she should have taken the risk. What good was living if it cost her everything she held dear and then some. She sunk to the floor sobbing and shaking. She was all alone that's all she had to show for it. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.   
Daniel had returned his head bowed in a solemn confirmation that her last remaining family was gone. “It is not completely lost. Your sisters did all they could but we underestimated the mortals which protect him. While they worked to defeat them I was able to places a curse on Spengler. With any luck he will be begging me to take his magic away in a few days. Well, that or we risk him becoming even more powerful than those before him, however since he has had no experience with his magic, no training, he has a very slim chance of actually being able to gain control even if he has guidance from Ms. Hezling.”   
Her blood boiled at the mention of her name. Leena Hezling had been just as much of an issue for them as the Spenglers had. While she had tended to leave witch hunting to others she didn't hesitate to deal with them if she felt they were in her way and needless to say her definition of in the way was very loose.  
“Now I know it is not a spell you are fond of but you will have to learn travel spells if we are to continue as you don't have your sisters to do it for you. This spell should be of no real difficulty for you to learn, you are after all a daughter of Kestrel.”   
She hated when people brought her great grandmother’s legacy into the picture. Everyone expected her and her sisters to be as great as she was as her mother and her grandmother were. What about her. Sometimes she felt as though Daniel only focused on her family because he wanted to further his standing in the community. He had even made an attempt to appeal to the Spengler family when they arrived home with their son in the hope that the fear of being unable to protect their child would wear at them.   
Instead it resulted in a stronger spell binding them to this small countryside community with no opportunity to grow outside of it. They were severed from the rest of the world only free to leave for short periods of time never forever and yet she was never upset about that. While the inability to leave permanently was a bit inconvenient she saw around her a tightly knit community of witches and warlocks who were able to live openly because they knew there was no mortals living among them. These houses stayed within magical families who because they couldn’t leave for too long at a time were able to live longer to thrive in a way others could not because their reckless ways of life called attention to their deeds and ultimately signaled for their destruction. With this in mind were they really so bad off? The growth of society had brought towns closer no longer was it a few days to the nearest city. It wasn’t impossible to live the way they did it was just inconvenient. Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder. “Now then come we must make sure you can travel we have much to do to ensure our plan is a success this time.”


	15. Chapter 15

It seemed like things might finally be back to normal for everyone. Monday morning came too quickly with an early morning call. Egon had to sit this one out. There was no telling the extent of physical damage the weekends events had caused him. Hopefully the day wasn’t too much worse than this. It was a simple class 4 job. Easy peasy they would be back in no time flat. As they assembled downstairs to head out Janine looked them up and down from her desk. “Jeez did you guys get calls over the weekend? You all look like hell.” She passed the report for the job to Peter who merely scowled at her knowing if he opened his mouth to reply it wasn’t going to be anywhere near nice. Ray mustered a smile “Yea we had a job we thought would be simple kinda go haywire yesterday but we got it under control.” He laughed nervously and got in the car. They had all agreed that what happened was on a need to know basis and Janine didn’t need to know. This was particularly stressed to Ray who was about as good at lying as politicians were at telling the truth. He only hoped Janine wasn't too suspicious.   
They were about to pull away from the firehouse when Janine stopped them “Wait where's Egon? Isn't he coming?” They hadn’t had a chance to explain why he was absent from this job. As they stalled for an answer Egon came down the stairs, much to their relief.  
“I'm going to watch the bookstore for Ray. I hardly think a class 4 requires all of us to be present to handle it.” He carefully adjusted his glasses and made his way back up the stairs to the kitchen without another word. Ray took that as their opening and quickly left.  
Janine made her way to the kitchen. Something wasn’t right. Ray was trying to hide something they all looked like hell and Egon honestly looked even worse than they did. What did she miss this weekend. Egon was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee reading through a particularly old book. He looked sickly his eye sunken in and heavy bags underneath them. She hated when they left her out of information. Her job was to help them function and she can’t do her job if she has no idea what was going on.   
She Quietly pulled up a chair and poured herself a cup of coffee “Rough weekend huh? You look like you could have just stayed in bed all day. Are you sure you’re ok?” He looked up from his book to acknowledge her. He wasn’t sure he was ok and he did want to go back to bed but he felt like he had to try and get back to the normal world and figure out everything else along the way. He had responsibilities and a life he couldn’t just turn his back on.  
“ We didn’t have all the information we thought we did on that call. Had it not been for Ray’s quick thinking i think we would have had some bigger problems. That said we didn't get finished and back till early this morning so yes we are tired and look like hell.” He couldn’t help it as he snapped at her. He just couldn’t deal with it right now. She could be so nosy and annoying. He knew she meant well but she had to have been able to read the room here and realize it just wasn't the time to pry about this.   
She calmly stepped up from the table and headed for her desk. She stopped as she got to the doorway. “You know I’m here if you need help with anything but I can’t help if I don’t have all the details myself.” She disappeared down the stairs. He knew she was right. He couldn’t keep this bottled up but he knew it was dangerous for who ever was involved. It wasn’t fair to ask that of his friends. “You know they are all in your way. You could be so much more. You could have everything you could ever want you just need to unlock your true potential.”   
the voice in his head was not his own but Daniels. He tried desperately to shake the voice away and ignore it. “You are a bigger fool than I thought. If you will not give this body and this power up willingly you will lose it by force. One by one i will destroy the bonds that tether you to this mortal plane then you will see just how easy it is to relinquish everything. Let’s start with that secretary of yours we can splatter the walls with her.”   
Egon buried his head in his hands furiously shaking. “No...no… i'm better than this….i'm better than you” Daniel laughed so loud Egon was sure someone had to have heard it aside from him. “Ooo you can still put up a fight after everything you went through. Well don't feel so bad. Looks like i have to break you a little more before we can have some real fun.” Egon felt sick to his stomach listening to Daniel. He wasn’t sure if he was there all the time or if he came and went as he pleased. He decided it would be best if he went to the bookstore and opened up for the day. Mondays were normally quiet. He could go most the day and not be bothered.   
As he approached the store he noticed that to his dismay there was a few people waiting for the shop to open. He unlocked the door flipped the sign over and took his place behind the counter. He watched as a handful of college age students mostly girls filed into the store making their way to whichever sections they were looking for.  
“Look at them. So eager so willing to give themselves to knowledge that would normally be forbidden to them. They are so easy to manipulate. A well placed phrase, some welcoming words, you could have them eating out of the palm of your hand. Your own coven you could bend them to your will you could have anything from them.”  
Egon was disgusted by the inferences Daniel made as he drew his attention toward two of the young women closest to him. He closed his eyes trying to focus on drowning Daniels voice out of his head. He was startled by the sound of the door opening. Leena Had just stepped inside carefully hanging her now soggy coat on the hanger. Egon only now realized that it was now pouring outside and thunder began to roll quietly over the city. She looked around the shop taking it in as she moved toward the counter. She could see by the look on his face Egon was already struggling. No matter how strong he thought he was he had never been contaminated by forces such as this.  
Before he could catch himself he snapped at leena “what do you want here.” She raised an eyebrow at him. But continued to the counter.   
“I knew you were gonna crack but I honestly thought it wasn’t going to be this fast. I can see it in your eyes. You have been fighting hard but your exhausted. He’s just gonna keep messing with you till you can’t fight and i'm sure he has nasty things in mind for everyone around you, he may have even told you some already.”  
He couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes at her. He knew he was fighting a losing battle but he had no choice. He could hear Daniel screaming at him to get rid of Leena. It thundered through his mind drowning out all other noise all other thoughts. The louder daniel got the more he felt a blinding burning pain in his head. He could see Leena rushing over the counter as he went down. The last thing he saw was her standing over him rummaging through her bag frantically. 

Now that Egon was quiet for a while Daniel could turn his focus back to Morgan. He needed her to be his pawn in this. What good was ultimate power if you were not alive to use it. He had hoped that her sisters would have lasted a little while longer but they proved useful in learning more about these ghostbusters and their strange devices that seemed to almost mimic the effects of binding magics. He knew that it took at least 2 of them to trap a well trained witch so all he had to do was divide and conquer. Morgan was so distraught by the loss of her sisters that he could practically fill her head with the idea what is was her fault and using that guilt she would be the last sacrifice that would grant him the powers he sought. It was a pity she wouldn’t survive it but the mere presence of a descendant of kestrel was enough to bring his motives into question. There were laws even dark witches and warlocks had and he had broken many of them to get where he was.   
He arrived at Morgans home quietly watching her practicing her travelling spells though different rooms in the house. She was more talented than she realized. Had either of her parents survived long enough to teach her more they would have soon realized that she could easily be the witch who could take down the magic of the Spengler family without breaking a sweat. He decided he had hidden long enough. He carefully stepped out to where she could spot him. She seemed almost startled to see him. “Oh, Daniel, I...I was just…..practicing. You had said i would need to travel so… yea…...here i am….. Practicing….that.” She had been doing a lot of thinking she wasn’t sure she wanted this. She spent her entire life learning hate and revenge but all it did was take away everyone in her life. Maybe they were doing the wrong thing. Maybe she should just tell Daniel the deals off. After all this man didn't even hunt witches. He didn’t even believe in magic. How could she hold him accountable for the actions of a family he had no real choice being born into. She was drained physically and emotionally she didn't want the rest of her life to be like this.   
Before she knew what was happening Daniel had his hand around her throat. He lifted her up into the air as she struggled to loosen his grip on her. “Child you can’t turn back now. Compassion will be the death of you. Look what this man and his friends have done. You are the last of your family. You no longer have the luxury of doubt or compassion. He may not hunt witches yet but he knows the truth now and he already hunts ghosts what makes you think he will stop there. You foolish little brat your screw ups have led to this. You allowed your sisters to die fighting your fight. You sacrificed your familiar for a chance to prolong your worthless life just a little further. You are lucky I have even saw fit to guide you in finishing what you started the night you let your familiar step in and protect you. You are the start of all of this and you will be the end of it by whatever means possible.”   
Daniel tossed her on the floor and spat at her. He had no time for her to go soft on him. He needed her magic to continue. She didn't realize how much she and Spengler were alike. She was so full of untapped potential. She had always been a slacker. Never truly interested in the greatness she was destined to become. Her methods and lifestyle were benign. The type of quiet neutered life they were forced to accept would enrage most and yet she seemed almost happy with it.  
Morgan was now cowering and sniveling in the corner. She hadn’t expected Daniel to turn so violent towards her. He scared her when he was like that with other people. She never dreamed she would ever be on the receiving end of it. She felt helpless and worthless. “Get up” he hissed at her. She quickly picked herself up off the floor. The next hours would be spent practicing spells she was nowhere near experienced enough to be learning let alone trying them on others. She knew she had to get away from Daniel but how.


	16. Chapter 16

Egon Woke up his head pounding. He was in the back office of the book store. Leena had her feet propped on the desk leaned back in the chair sound asleep. He could see Ray was at the front counter watching customers putter around the shop. As he tried to sit up he felt the weight of a chain on his wrists anchoring him to the bed. It was only then that he saw the office was a wreck. The file cabinet was knocked over, the glass on the office door shattered. The jingling of the chains alerted both Lenna and Ray. She nearly fell off the chair as she scrambled to pretend she hadn’t been asleep. He could see Ray was sporting one hell of a bruise on his jaw and a black eye. “Did i do that to you?” Ray chuckled actually no Leena did. “You blacked out and tried to kill her once she got you calmed down she was watching you till she could get a hold of me. I kinda...accidentally snuck up on her and she thinking i was there to hurt you guys well..” He shrugged it off and pulled a chair up to Egon. He began to examine his eyes and heart rate. As he flashed a light into his eyes he drew back. His head hurt too much to deal with the light “Your heart rate seems a little sluggish but that could honestly be due to exhaustion. I really think you should have stayed home in bed today. you can’t keep trying to do things on your own. Leena told me about the curse. Unfortunately there's nothing we can physically do to help you. Leena is going to walk you through how to chanel and control magic but thats all we can really add. Once you can control it you can hopefully work away the curse until you overpower it…...or it overpowers you, But we aren’t going to let it do that. We are here every step of the way.” 

He appreciated Rays blind optimism but he just wasn’t sure he should try fighting or if he could even keep fighting. He wasn't meant for this. Perhaps he should just give the magic to Daniel, it wasn't worth any more lives. No sooner than the thought had crossed his mind the door to the shop flew open. In stepped the woman from the porch. She looked different somehow. Her eyes were black and sunken in and her skin was pale almost lifeless looking. Ray and Leena stood between her and Egon. With a wave of her hand Leena was quickly pinned to the wall by the desk she turned to ray and without laying a hand on him she had him raised in the air. He was choking and gagging fighting the invisible force holding him. Egon was still chained to the bed desperately trying to get loose. He could see the color draining from both Ray and Leena. It looked as though the very life was being sucked from them. No matter how hard he was trying the chains would not budge. From out of Morgans shadow Daniel stepped into the room. “ How do you like my new puppet? All the ability for me to destroy your family and friends and none of the risk. Now then let’s finish this quickly i can't hold up your friend too much longer.” He walked over to Leena's coat on the rack and produced a wooden stake. “ Sure they are meant for vampires but hey you’d die too if someone drove a stake through your heart.” 

In one last desperate move Egon forced himself away from the bed. The chains broke with just enough time for him to get between Daniel and Ray. The stake was sent plunging into his chest through the mark Daniel had left behind. At first he hadn’t realized just what had happened but it wasn't long until he let out a shriek before disappearing. Morgan collapsed to the ground dropping Ray in the process. She gasped and ran over to Egon. If he didn’t make a choice quickly his wound would be fatal. It was now she realized this wasn't what she wanted.This was never what she wanted. She wanted a life, a family. She wanted someone who would throw away their life for her because they wanted to not because they had to. Leena had already shoved the desk out of her way she moved over to where Ray and Egon were. Ray had begun to wake up catching his breath.   
Morgan looked pleadingly at Leena “Please, I never wanted this, i wasn't the one doing this. I want to help him. I cant have more blood on my hands. He has to choose to take Daniels power he’ll die otherwise you have to tell him. I know he won't listen to me. I know you have no reason believe me but Daniel broke his seal that gives Egon fair claim on his power, please.” Ray was looking from Morgan to Egon who was fading fast. He looked a Leena “What choice do we have. I can’t let him die. I gotta try and tell him…..Egon it's gonna be weird but you gotta take Daniels power.I know you hate the idea of magic and this is just way outta your depth but… Dammit I refuse to let you die because you are being stubborn. ”  
Egon could hear Ray pleading with him in the distance. He saw himself lying on the floor the steak deep in his chest and a deep red pool underneath him. Morgan was rocking back and forth on the ground anxiously watching as Leena hovered over her crossbow drawn. He turned to see Daniel standing in the room with him. He looked at him and saw he was anxious, not the confident and powerful being that had been tormenting him. He was a weak man who let his insecurities get the best of him. “So what's this I hear about claiming your magic?”   
Daniel had backed up against that wall and nervously shook his head. “No...no no no no no… you don’t want my magic. My magic it’s its…. So …...insignificant. I mean what would you even want with it……. You….don’t…… even …..even want your own…..” Egon Drew closer. He had made his choice. He was going to trust Ray. He was going to take the magic. He grabbed Daniel by the arm. “I think we both know where this is going Daniel. You won’t get to hurt anyone anymore” as he walked closer to him Daniel panicked as he slowly began to fade away. “I'm telling you. You will be sorry. You can’t take my powers without wearing the scars of what brought it to you.” With one last shriek he was gone.   
Ray could see there was a steady rise and fall in Egons chest now despite the stake still clearly lodged in it. His eyes slowly opened and he began to look around the room. Ray sat there shaking his eyes locked on the stake. Leena seeing that he was alert walked over and causally yanked the stake from his chest and after examining it for a moment shrugged and placed it back into her coat. She offered him a hand up “Welcome back Dr.” She patted Ray on the back and helped him up “Ya did good, at least he listens to someone. Now what should we do with you” She turned her crossbow back towards Morgan who was trying to quietly creep out the door. “I have half a mind to waste you right here right now but i don't think Ray needs anymore blood to clean up.” Egon stepped forward. He couldn’t let Leena kill her just like that. He felt as if there was something they weren’t getting here. He saw she wasn’t in control. She had no choice in how she acted today. Who’s to say any of her previous actions were actually her choice.  
“Thank you for telling Ray what to do. I'm sorry about how we met on Friday.” He held out his hand for a handshake. Morgan stood there dumbfounded. After everything that had happened over the last few days he was still trying to be….nice to her? It didn't change the fact that her sisters were gone but she knew they had no choice. Her sisters were just as bent on rage and hate as she once was. She was able to see that wasn't going to help anyone before it was too late for herself. She took a step closer to shake hands with him it was then that she realized his eyes were now solid black and his hand had returned to the black clawed appendage humphry’s poison had transformed it to. She gasped and pulled her hand away.   
Egon looked down to see his hand was back to the condition it had been in. Unlike the last time he didn't have the feeling something was trying to take him over. He held it up examining it. It moved like his arm it just wasn’t his arm. “This must be what he meant when he said i would wear the marks of how i got his power. Well if it's my life line looks like i have to live with it.” He once again offered the hand to Morgan who hesitantly took it this time.   
Ray walked hesitantly toward them. “Do you feel alright now? I mean is it you there Egon?” He wasn’t sure how to wrap his head around this. He was startled by the change in Egon’s eyes, fearing that it was in fact daniel not Egon. How was he supposed to explain this to the guys, to Janine. She would be angry that he kept a secret from her like that. She was just as much a part of the team as the guys were.  
He turned and looked at Ray. “I’m fairly certain I’m me. I feel better. I'm tired and sore still but I think i'm going to be alright.” Morgan stood not sure if she should stay or go. She looked to each of them hoping someone would give a signal one way or the other but when they didn't she chose to make for the door. Egon grabbed her hand as she walked out. “Wait um miss….I wouldn’t supposed you would be able to show me how to….work with this?” He gestured to his hand. “I’m pretty sure i'm going to need some kind of ……..magic to at least appear decent in public.” She stared bewildered at the request. He was asking her for help? “Um…. I'm Morgan and… i mean ….i guess. I'm still learning myself but i can get you that far…..” She shuffled her feet nervously trying to move toward the door. “Thank you morgan, it's better than nothing. I will drop by this weekend. Unless you need anything from me you can go home” With that she disappeared in the blink of an eye.   
Ray turned to Leena “I guess your job is done here. What's the bill for your services? I’ll have pete send it over.” She stood and pondered it for a moment seeming to make calculations by counting on her fingers. After a few min she threw up her hands. “Hows about you just buy me dinner and we call it square?” Ray grinned and shook her hand “it’s a date, I mean a deal unless you want it to be a date but its whatever…. Good” She smiled and roughed up his hair. “You’re strange but you’ll do” 

After spending a few hours cleaning blood off the floor and getting the office back in shape Ray and Egon called it a night but not before Ray called the firehouse to see if Janine was still there. He was trying his best to avoid her not wanting to explain everything that had happened and more importantly why she hadn’t been told. After a few rings the answering machine flipped on. As he breathed a sigh of relief someone picked up the phone. “Ghostbusters we’re ready to believe you” Peter had grabbed the phone signalling Janine was nowhere in sight. “Oh hey Pete its Ray. I just called to see who all was still around.” Although puzzled by the question he answered “Oh hi ray well. I was just leaving for the day and janine left an hour ago and i think winston was gonna hang till you got back which will be……?” he didn't answer for a min as he took one last look around to see if anything else needed done. “Oh um we are about to walk out the door now so within the hour. You can leave though if you are ready.” He sounded nervous like he was hiding something. “Raaaaaaaay what's going on you sound nervous like you are hiding something. Did you split your pants again?”   
“Hey that was one time and no I just didn't know if anyone was still there, that's all.” He knew he couldn’t lie to Peter he was an excellent psychologist and yet there he was still trying.   
The walk home was quiet and cold as the made their way each praying no one was there to give them the 3rd degree about their day and the sudden change in Egons appearance.


	17. Chapter 17

The firehouse was empty and dark when they arrived. Neither spoke a word just made their way upstairs to their respective rooms. Egon was barely under the covers he could hear Ray snoring in the next room. He soon drifted off himself. When he opened his eyes it was still dark. A chill ran through him as he looked around his eyes adjusting as he got his bearings. He was in that same dark place that Daniel had taken him to. His heart started pounding out of his chest he leapt from the bed not sure where he was going but he was going. As he looked around he realized there were no doors, no windows only darkness. He heard a noise ahead and bolted forward only to be jerked back suddenly resulting in him falling to the cold hard floor. He heard a small chuckle that began to grow until laughter was tearing through the air all around him.   
“Ooooooo poor Egon. So trusting of those closest to you so unaware that your trust in them is your greatest weakness. That little brat ended up being too squeamish to fulfill her purpose so i had to tip the balance somehow. Compassion and humanity are so easily warped. Now i have exactly what I wanted. I will say this isn’t the body i would have considered being a vessel of ultimate power but you know what they say about beggars and all that.”   
Finally Daniel stepped forth from the shadows. Only now he looked exactly like Egon.   
“Now then while i'm incharge we are going to take care of something I should have done a long time ago. We have some weak links to break.”

With that the scene around him changed he was back in his neighborhood standing in front of the house across the street. He was once again trapped inside watching as daniel opened the door silently and crept in the house. What took place over the next few hours was nearly unspeakable. Daniel went selectively from house to house swiftly, violently butchering witches and warlocks he considered to be the “weak links” he spoke of. once done each and every one was splayed out on their front lawns. Men ,women, old, and young he didn't care. If they were weak to him they were dead. Finally they stopped at Morgans doorstep. Daniel stopped just short of opening the door. “Killing this one would be a blessing. She must live with herself for all time. An eternity to pontificate her pathetic existence and all that she lost due to her failings. Will she go mad? Or will she learn to take advantage like others have? Only time will tell.”  
He let out a cruel cackle. The sound was Egons but the inflection was pure evil.   
He turned toward the sky. Dawn was breaking and soon those that were left would be waking to a nightmare and it was all his fault. The next thing he knew he was being shaken by Ray. He was back in his room in his bed. He saw The look of panic as Janine cowered at the edge of the doorway. He looked around and saw streaks of blood on the door on the bed and the walls. He noticed the marks of bloody bare footprints on the floor.   
“EGON, what happened!” All he could do was sit there as the weight of everything came crashing down on him.  
He couldn’t find words to describe anything that happened. He felt like a monster. He knew he didn't have control but he should have tried to do something it was all his fault. He just kept shaking his head trying to process everything trying to make it go away.   
Their blood was on his hands he killed people multiple people dozens of people in ways to heineous for rational thought to comprehend. Janine was clearly afraid of him something that seemed to break him even more. He never wanted to see her or anyone afraid of him. Finally Ray seeing the broken look on his face ushered her away.   
“I think I need to talk to him alone wait in my office I will fill you in after.”  
Egon was now sitting up the same shattered look on his face. Ray examined him from head to toe. He didn't look to be hurt but he was coated in blood. “Egon…..what happened? What did you do?”  
He had a feeling that he didn't want to know the answer but he knew he needed to know what they were dealing with.  
Finally Egon choked out the most chilling words  
“I killed them, men women elderly young it didn't matter I just……….” he trailed off lost in the horror of what he had done.  
“Who Egon who did you kill? What happened?”  
He was desperately trying to stay calm but how could he. His best friend is found covered in blood and now he just said he killed people multiple people by the sounds of it.  
“The other witches somethings wrong with me i'm not me. Daniel still has control we went back to the house to my old neighborhood he said he was taking care of weak links i couldn't do anything he just kept killing people no one saw me and if they did they aren't alive to say anything.” 

He didn't know what to say. Who would at this point. He was so stupid to think it was over so easily. This whole thing had now spiraled out of control and it was all because he wouldn't give Egon the space he desperately required. If he hadn't pushed him to go back to his house they could have avoided this.   
“I have to call Leena. You stay here i'm gonna clean up the footprints and try to talk with janine. Just don't do anything till leena can take a look at you.”  
He felt like he was spending far too much time lately cleaning up blood that was not his own. If they didn't get this under control who know what will happen next. Clearly killing them all is not beyond the realm of possibilities.


	18. Chapter 18

Morgan woke with a start. Something wasn't right. The air around her felt wrong and full of fear and confusion. She could hear a commotion outside. She quickly dressed herself and made her way to the porch. She could see almost everyone was outside gathered in the streets.she bounded down the stairs and as she went to stop someone to ask what all the excitement was she saw it row after row each house had at least one warlock or witch heinously displayed on the front lawn some were placed at houses they did not live at. Whole families senselessly butchered in the middle of the night.as she took stock of those dead she realized that many were families that would be best described as white witches. No black magic was practiced in their families for at least the last hundred years. They kept to themselves and left mortals alone and even saw their exile as a blessing rather than a curse. Who would have been so cruel as to murder them.   
The thought struck her… could it be daniel? Did he in fact survive? But then why was she alive surely he would have at least tried to kill her. Maybe it wasn't him perhaps it was that hunter that was in the book store yesterday. She knew where they were and she was definitely trigger happy. She had to speak up but how would they blame her instead? As she wandered the crowd she could hear the others murmuring “they were white witches you know. Probably brought attention to themselves and an outsider figured it out.”   
“looks like someone decided to thin the herd a bit”   
“looks like someone is plucking the weak links in the chain”   
She couldn’t believe that those around her woke up and found neighbors friends even murdered in the night and they didn't so much as shed a tear or fear for their own safety? She had to go and find Egon maybe he would have some clue as to what happened. 

She made her way back to the house so she could grab a few things and collect herself before leaving. She wasn’t sure what she would be walking into but she needed to be prepared. As she thought about the possible suspects she remembered the previous days events. As she thought about it she found it weird that Daniel would tell her something that could be used to destroy him. He made it clear he had his suspicions. Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that he told her. He intended for her to use it but not to hurt him to help him. She quickly ran to the book shelf and began tearing through pages in ancient tomes until she finally found what she was looking for.   
The Binding curse: A warlock or witch may be led into a “pact” with a demonic entity if they agree to “take” their powers. While they do obtain the use of the entities powers they also become a host for the entity until such time as they are over taken by it. It is by far one of the most destructive forms of dark magic as it leaves the wielder needlessly vulnerable for the sake of a fleeting acquisition of power. It was said that Kestrel was able to wield this dark magic for a long period of time but its toll ultimately lead to her defeat and eventual destruction.  
She read the words over and over. It was all her fault she let Daniel use her. She begged and pleaded with them to tell Egon take his powers. She thought she was helping she thought she was doing something good for once in her life but instead she messed it up just like everything else. How could she tell them this they wouldn’t understand what she went through, what she was taught. She would have been better off if she was dead. Perhaps Daniel left her for that exact reason, to live with every screw up for the rest of her unnatural life. She could wallow in self pity or she could try to make it right for real. She packed the book in her bag careful to mark the page and in a blink was gone. 

Janine was waiting in the office for Ray wondering what could have possible happened while she was away. She knew when she came back monday morning something was not right she just didn't realize how bad it was. Strange things were a job hazard but normally it was someone else what was in trouble not them especially not Egon he was just too smart and sometimes a little too cynical to let something get to him. Peter sure and yes Ray could be very naive at times and drop his guard be Egon wasn't able to be fooled so easily and from the looks of it he had tangled with something very dangerous. Ray tapped on the door and sheepishly came in the room clearly embarrassed that he had left her out of whatever was going on.   
“I’m gonna tell you some pretty rough stuff I Need you to promise me you won't freak out and I need you to promise me no matter what you can not be alone with Egon at any time until i say so.”   
She nodded her head not sure if she was ready to know what was going on now knowing it had Ray scared enough to deem Egon unsafe.   
“When we went back to Egon’s old house to try and clean up some weird stuff went down. He got into a fight with his neighbor and she and her sisters tried to kill him and they almost did. I don't know how but he survived just barley. We thought we had this settled and done but yesterday at the shop when Leena came in-”  
“Leena? Whose Leena”  
“Oh sorry She’s a friend of Peters we called in to…...well…… help with an exorcism but we ended up not doing that. Any way she came by the bookstore to check on Egon and all hell broke loose when the witch who tried to kill him-  
“WITCH? YOU DIDN'T SAY WITCH!”  
“Oh um well apparently everyone in Egon’s old neighborhood are witches and warlocks cursed to stay there by his family because at one point or another they were practicing dark magic and hurting people. She came to the store and she tried to finish the job and some other weird stuff happened and then we kinda thought we had finally put the lid on this whole thing but as you see somethings still wrong and frankly at this point i dont know what to do because its not the witch that tried to kill him, she kinda realized it was stupid and she helped him in the end and its not the warlock that was helping her or her sisters because they are all gone now so honestly i'm just lost and until i know whats going on i cant risk someone else getting hurt especially someone we all care about so much. So promise me you will try and act normal until we figure this out? I'm going to call Leena and see if she has any ideas on what to do, in the meantime we will clean the mess in the hall up and i'm gonna put some salt down to keep Egon in his room. If this is something demonic i can’t let him go anywhere.”  
She sat there stunned. She worked for the ghostbusters, she had seen the world on the brink of oblivion twice in her time with them she had seen some crazy stuff and yet this was something else. No one ever got seriously hurt from all this maybe a broken bone or a sprain from time to time but no one nearly died. No one was put in immediate danger on their team. She leaves them to themselves for one weekend and comes back to a real life horror movie.

She left the room to grab cleaning supplies and found Winston staring at the marks on the floor and walls. He looked up at her and sighed   
“Still havin Egon problems? I’ll go get some mops.”  
Ray was now scrambling to find Leena’s phone number when he felt a small rush of air and then suddenly Morgan was standing in front of his desk a pleading look in her eyes.

“ I swear I didn't know what he was doing when I told you how to help Egon I would never in a million years have done this to him i'm so sorry, please don’t tell Leena she won't even give me a chance to explain.”  
While he wasn’t completely sure what she was talking about he had a feeling she was talking about the change in Egon. He was certain she truly didn't know there was a cost for saving him but then again nothing in this world was free.  
“Morgan calm down. Tell me what happened. All I know is we found Egon a bloody mess this am and all he could tell me is he killed people and Daniel was still in control.”   
She was rummaging in her bag struggling to pull a large tome from it that appeared snagged on something. He reached over to help her with the book and placed it on the desk.   
She frantically flipped the book open to a page she had marked and began to read the entry about the binding curse. Ray’s heart sank with every word. This situation was worse than he thought and Leena had already promised if it got out of hand she would end it herself.  
“How do we stop it? Can we stop it?”  
Morgan shook her head, “I don't know if I hadn't even heard of this until this morning when I woke up to absolute carnage.The scary part is the witches that were left were totally cool with it. The ones he killed were families that became white witches over time, gave up the dark magics in the hope that they would be free to move in peace from the community and it did work as long as they spoke with Edwin Spengler and then when he died his wife tried desperately to do what she could but the ones that waited too long to ask well, they were the unlucky ones. Sadly dark covens don’t take kindly to those that chance for the better I know i used to think that way but recently i think that's changed. I think i know someone who can help but i'm not sure if we go see them we can take leena, frankly I don't think we should be telling Leena any of this. She won't wait for a fix her fix is to put him 6ft under. She has a horrible history of that.”

It was starting to dawn on Ray the Leena was more of a threat than an asset. She didn’t care about the lives she ended and he had a feeling she even enjoyed it. No morgan was right Leena could not know.   
“I’ll let winston and janine know i've gotta take care of some things and then we can go. Let's go see this person before we take Egon i kinda have him blocked in the room with salt right now. He doesn't know it yet and I'm sure when he finds out it's gonna be bad.”  
Morgan was glad Ray gave her a chance. She had a lot to make up for in her life but she didn’t want murder to be one of them. As Ray opened the door to go talk to Winston he was startled to see Leena standing at the door. She eyed him with a curious and almost unnatural look. Had she been listening this whole time or had she just arrived. She stepped aside allowing Ray to enter the room and noticed Morgan her calm posture immediately went ridgid.   
“Oh, Ray... am i interrupting something? I was going to see if Egon was ok. Seems there are some pretty…..wild……. Rumors around the hunting community of a mass witch execution. Problem is none of us did it and as far I know there aren’t any new comers to the playing field so it left me to wonder who could come in almost unseen and do such a thing unseen? So I came out of the goodness of my heart to make sure your friend was ok and then I see that Morgan of all people is here alone with you in your office.”  
She had an almost unhinged look. She was staring right past him at Morgan who was now backed against the wall frozen with fear. Without hesitation she drew her bow and shoved past Ray and into the room. Just as Ray feared the worst was about to happen a growl was heard from upstairs and some force shook the very foundation of the firehouse. He could hear furniture being tossed and glass shattering. Egon or more likely Daniel had found the salt barriers on the door and windows. He knew it wouldn’t last forever but perhaps it could buy time.  
Leena had now turned her attention back to Ray cocking her head towards the ceiling.  
“What was that? Are you hiding something from me? I thought you liked me Ray. Why would you keep secrets from me?”

Winston was on the other side of the door frame watching Ray and listening to Leena. She was completely insane. She wanted blood and at this point it didn’t look like it would matter whos it was. Another growl had the house shaking followed by a cracking noise coming from the bunk room. They had to keep Leena away from Egon at all costs. Peter had just entered the building and rushed over “What's going on the whole building is shaking!”   
Winston shushed him and gestured to the office. “Egon’s still having problems and Leenas gone off her nut. Morgan can help him but I dont think leena will allow it. we gotta give her and ray a shot at getting out.”  
Suddenly there was another commotion from upstairs followed by Janine screaming. Before they could make it to the steps Egon came tearing around the corner making a beeline for the office. Ray moved to the side as he barreled through not even stopping to acknowledge the three of them he stopped at the door and locked eyes with Leena.   
“Get out of here hunter your job is done.”  
She turned to him bow still drawn. “Well this just got fun. I’ve killed many a witch and a warlock in my life time but I rarely have the chance to take out a Spengler. Good thing you’re not even a practised warlock“  
He stared are her drawing slightly closer. “What do you mean rarely…. You’ve killed my family members before?” She tossed her head back and cackled. “I told you I was with your father on his last job didn’t I? Tell me someone as smart as you, wasn’t it weird that someone as well taken care of as your father just up and died one day? there was no viewing just a cremation and done? I took care of him. I couldn’t have him letting witches and warlocks walk free. It went against everything his family stood for everything my family fought for. No i convinced him to take one last job I told him the worlds safety depended on it and he believed me. It was a hell of a fight but in the end the old man was just too soft. He could have ended me right then but he showed weakness and that was his end.”

Egons entire posture changed he backed of almost shrinking back from Leena as he tried to process what she had said.   
“No you have to be lying. He had a stroke that happens to even the healthiest seeming person. My mother told me she was with him. She wouldn’t lie to me about anything especially that.”   
Leena had stepped closer and lowered her bow she paced around Egon almost as if she was stalking him.  
“Really? Your mother wouldn’t lie to you? Then why all the secrecy about your father about your so called neighbors your whole family history. How much did you actually learn from them and how much did you stumble upon? Think about they kept everything from you because they were weak and afraid. If they had just told you everything you wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be cursed and you wouldn’t have been so easily taken out.”

Before anyone could make a single move leena had Egon pinned to the floor a black dagger pinning him down by his shoulder. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a bottle which she quickly poured on him her knee placed on his back and her other hand now holding up the bow to keep anyone who came near from getting any closer. Egon was struggling to move they could see he was contorting and foaming at the mouth while something black ran down his face from his eyes. They had to stop her no matter what. Winston nodded at Pete and Ray and begam a silent count but before they could do anything a proton stream suddenly shot through the room catapulting Leena backwards into the wall.   
They all looked up shocked to see janine armed with the pack the gun still smoking. Morgan had raced over to Egon who was still foaming but not moving as much. Ray looked over at leena he had never seen what a proton stream could do to a person and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Sure enough Egon’s theory on that was confirmed it would be similar to a large gunshot wound straight through and out. The center of her chest was just a port hole through to the wall that was only slightly scorched. Despite this he had a feeling if a wooden stake didn't stop leena nothing would.

“Morgan if you can help him we gotta go now, guys , I think we gotta lock leena in the basement. If she's loose we don't have a chance.” 

He moved over to morgan who was still bent over Egon. Winston was carefully moving the dagger to get it free from the floor.   
“We can’t take that dagger out Leena may have done something to it. I think she was trying to perform a quick and dirty exorcism of sorts but these ones are not meant to save anyone. They are meant to inflict fear and suffering. I can’t have you all come with us but i need the two who are part of the protection spell. If she knows about that spell she may set her sights on you in desperation.”  
Ray stepped forward. “That would be me and Pete.” It was then he realized that no one had really explained peters involvement in the situation.  
He stood there bewildered.   
“Hey no one told me i was part of some spell. I don’t do magic because believe me if I did I would have a comfy stint in vegas by now.”  
Ray chuckled and shook his head  
“No its nothing we did it was Egons mom. We more or less got a sort of magical guardianship duty. Ya know keep him safe pretty much what we have been doing since college but the stakes are raised a bit. All we have to do is be there for him and have his back. Winston can you and Janine handle things here? Unless it's an absolute emergency don't take any calls let it go to voicemail.”   
Winston gave a nod and turned to Janine “well hot shot think you can help me get her secured in the basement?keep the pack handy just in case.”   
She looked wearily over at the wall where Leena was still slumped   
“Is she...dead?”  
“Somehow I don't think so we saw her get impaled and she got up from that so it's best we don’t underestimate her. That was some bold thinking to use the pack. I'm glad you did cuz our plan wasn’t as good.”   
they made their way over to leena and began moving her down to the basement careful to keep an eye out for any signs that she might be waking up. With Leena taken care of it was time to move Egon.   
“Ok so where are we going and how are we getting there?”  
Peter looked from morgan to Ray waiting for an answer.  
“Well we can’t drive soooo i guess there's always my way. Quick each of you pick Egon up careful not to move him around too much. ”   
Once they had him up she grabbed each of their arms and muttered under her breath. Suddenly the room sun and it felt like someone grabbed hold of them and ripped them into next tuesday. When the spinning stopped they were in the middle of the woods at an old run down abandoned looking cabin.Had they fallen for another trap?


	19. Chapter 19

Morgan hopped up the steps and banged on the door. After a few minutes there was no answer she began banging more furiously on the door.   
“Evinrude please its morgan I need your help please I screwed up super bad. I need you.”   
As she continued frantically beating at the door Peter noticed that several large birds had begun to collect at the house around them every second another would land until it seemed they were surrounded from every possible angle.   
“Um Ray, get the feeling we are being watched?”  
He honestly hadn’t noticed the birds that had now gathered around but now that he had it was unsettling to say the least.   
Suddenly all the birds flew off at once and the door opened to reveal an ancient looking person hunched over a crooked cane fashioned from a tree branch. They stepped out onto the porch.   
“Morgan what have you done this time and why have you brought mortals and more importantly why a Spengler. I have told you I will not be a part of the drama between them and the entire witch world.”  
They moved to close the door but Morgan stopped them. “Evinrude please this is all my fault. He didn’t even know anything his parents told him nothing and now he's been cursed with a binding spell and it all my fault and Leena wants to-”  
“LEENA! Were you followed did she see you come here?”  
“No no she’s been dealt with but she tried to do something to Egon and i don’t know who else could help him. I had to bring the mortals because they were assigned guardianship by his late mother. If Leena had the chance she would surely take them out.”

They stood listening and watching the woods around them. After Morgan finished they opened the door and gestured in.  
“Don’t make me regret this i broke from the witching world hundreds of years ago to live my life in peace. Put him on the bed.”   
They shuffled around the room securing all doors and shutters no one could see in or out.

Ray and Peter had placed Egon on the bed holding him up a bit so he wasn't lying on the dagger handle and pushing it further in. at this point it seemed that the foaming had stopped but he was still convulsing every so often and he seemed clammy to the touch. He still had some color but it wasn't much.

Evinrude came over and looked him head to toe. “You messed this up big time you are lucky thou hast someone who knows the old ways your people forgot long ago. He has a chance but it will be a long and difficult process. First we need to get the dagger out. We can not touch it this is a job for the mortals. This dagger was never meant to come out. It was meant to immobilize him particularly that claw so that he could be given a cruel exorcism. If completed these are normally a fate worse than death for mortal and magical alike. Who ever stopped her cut it very close. Now morgan you will help me hold him both of you take hold of the dagger and pull do not stop until it is out. Even if he begs you to stop pulling it out do not.”

They hesitantly placed their hands together on the handle of the dagger and began to pull. The minute the blade resisted Egon was awake looking around panicked.   
“What’s going on where are we. Peter?! Ray?! Where is everyone else what happening. The last thing I remember is talking to Leena…… Oh god Janine Winson did she hurt them. Why aren’t we there. I gotta go back to the firehouse.”  
Ray and Peter still had a grip on the dagger and felt it would be best to see if he could pull himself off a little bit. As he struggled and tried to move away the dagger didn't budge. He turned his head to the side only now realizing something was keeping him back.   
“ What are you waiting for pull this thing out so we can leave.” Ray looked at him Peter merely shrugged  
“You heard the man ray lets go.”  
With that Pete jammed his foot on Egons back and they began to pull as hard as possible.  
Ray could feel the dagger almost dig in harder to resist being removed. Egon began to howl and scream in pain. They could now see just below the handle appearing as they pulled a little more. Egon was screaming and begging them to just stop they knew they couldn’t no matter how terrible it seemed. After nearly two hours of struggling the dagger was finally out but the wound it left behind was much worse than they thought.

As they examined the dagger Ray could see that the blade had teeth that would only tear something as it was pulled out . while the shoulder was torn up pretty badly he was thankful she had not aimed for anything more vital.

Evinrude had begun doing their best to bandage and patch what they could There were bandages soaked in strange smelling potions that Morgan was trying her best to apply but Egon kept moving or pulling away.   
“You need to let us patch this unless you wanna walk around with a gaping hole in your arm. Is that what you want? You just wanna wait for it to rot and fall off? We can do that it won't take long with what Leena has done to you”  
Ray and Pete perked up at the mention of Leena  
“What exactly did she do? We barely saw her move then Egon was on the ground foaming and convulsing and she was pouring something on him. Then Janine shot her, speaking of which , Ray remind me to give Janine a raise.”

Evirude looked up from their work. “She was dousing him in holy water mixed with salt. The only reason your friend isn't dead is because he is a half breed. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had a chance. The dagger was also blessed, anything she carries as a weapon is designed to kill in horrible painful ways.Please help keep him still i have to clean and close that wound before it festers. With hunters tools there is a short window to stop permanent damage. The binding spell is the only thing holding it off this long. That shadow demon will be pretty weak once we are done with the wound we will work on a proper separation.”   
There was a small commotion behind them as Egon was trying to shove morgan off him to get up. She wasn't giving up as easily as her small stature would have suggested but then again even with a size advantage Egon was short the use of an arm and probably exhausted. Ray just hoped at this point Winston and Janine were doing ok with Leena. He couldn’t forgive himself if something happened.


	20. Chapter 20

At the firehouse winston and janine had secured Leena to a chair in the basement with every rope and chain they could find. It had been a few hours and there had been no change in her. Perhaps she was dead. The thought washed over Winston sending a chill down his spine. What did they do if she was. They couldn’t keep her in the basement but if they called someone it would be hard to explain why a proton pack was used on a living being rather than a ghost. Despite everything that New York had seen he highly doubted the D. A would believe that a monster hunter tried to kill their friend who's apparently a demonic warlock or whatever the situation was.   
Janine had fixed a pot of coffee and had spent a good deal of time just staring at the cup in front of her. The silence was awkward. He had to say something but he was sure she felt hurt that she was left out of something so important.  
“Hey look we didn’t expect this to become a big thing. If I had any idea just how crazy this whole thing would be I would have filled you in from minute one. Hell i thought it was over until this morning. You know Egon’s a very private person when it comes to his family life we wanted to respect that as much as possible.”  
She finally looked up at him. The tears in her eyes broke his heart. He hadn’t seen her cry that much since Lewis broke up with her to move back home.   
“It’s not that i know why you left me out its just what if that lady is dead, I may have killed someone and all we did was lock her in the basement. We can get away with a lot of weird things but we still gotta follow the law and last a checked murder even in self defence is a no no. On top of all of that what happens if……..”  
She trailed off and began to cry harder. She didn’t have to finish He knew she was worried they might lose Egon. She had been in love with him from the day she was hired you could see it from space it was so obvious and yet Egon was completely lost to it. She made it so painfully obvious for the first few years but then she moved on as much as she could. She had other boyfriends but there was always room in her heart for Egon hoping that maybe one day he would figure it out. He had to admit he wasn’t sure what would happen next. Even if Egon survived unless leena was gone he would be fighting and possibly running for the rest of his life. 

“Look Janine I trust Ray and Pete and clearly so did Egons mom. I'm sure they are doing everything they can. As for Leena i think we need to bypass typical law enforcement. She’s hundreds of years old i'm sure legally she doesn’t exist in any state record. I know its a stretch but all those old movies and stories about monster hunters there's always a council or someone they answer to maybe if we figure out who she answers to we can talk to them one type of exterminator to another. I know it sounds corny but it's the only lead we have.”

Janine went to reply but was interrupted by a sound coming from the basement. Someone or something was pounding against the door it went quiet for a few minutes and then winston's heart sank as he could hear the sound of the chair breaking as it was smashed against the bolted door. 

“ Janine we gotta go. I don't know where but we can’t be here when she gets out. We gotta take your car she knows the ecto.”  
Before janine could even reach for her keys the front door to the firehouse burst open. Winston looked up hoping to see the guys back but instead was met by three people cloaked in black with various weapons pointed at them blocking the door.   
“No ones going anywhere until this is sorted out. Wheres Leena?!”  
they both looked at each other unsure they should tell them anything   
The man in the middle stepped forward but lowered the gun he was brandishing. I'm not asking again where is-”

The sound of the basement door breaking caught everyone's attention and before they could stop them the 3 cloaked figures darted towards the basement.   
“Come on that's our opening.”  
Janine hurled the keys at winston and they raced toward the garage. Just as they made it to the entryway two more people stepped into the room.  
“Not so fast. We need you to tell us what is going on here. We received a distress message via an eye of Odin incantation. It was reported that a hunter had gone rogue?”  
They breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m not sure who sent for you but boy are we glad you are here. We hired Leena to help our friend and then things went south and now she’s trying to kill him and anyone else in her way.”  
They both removed their hoods to reveal stern but friendler faces the woman speaking to them put her hand out. 

“Cricket Trove hunters order class 3 at your service. We have been trying to catch Leena since   
she moved to the states we knew she had changed her name but every lead it seemed she was one step ahead until the trail went cold about 30 years ago. I'm sorry for the trouble she’s causing you but it did help us to locate her. Now who sent the eye of odin we need to question them.”

They both shrugged  
“We don’t even know what that is. We have just been keeping an eye on her body so we could make sure our friend wasn’t attacked again.”  
“Ok well mr….”  
“Zeddemore, Winston Zeddemore Ghostbuster at your service.”  
Cricket rolled her eyes and continued  
“Well where is your friend now?”  
“Oh um we aren't sure he went with our other friends to get help and that's the last we saw.”

The man next to Cricket stepped closer.  
“Did your friend send the eye then? We need to know where they went. Is there a place they would go to hide? Where is their coven? Time is of the essence we can’t have an unregulated witch or warlock wandering about who knows what they are capable of. We have already received reports of strange widespread occurrences in this area. Human lives could be at stake.”

It was clear that they weren't out of danger just yet. Hopefully Janine understood that they had to be careful about anything they said if they said anything at all.

“Our friend isn’t a warlock he needed an exorcism and Peter, our other friend knew Leena did that sort of thing so that's how Leena got involved but she didn't do something right and we felt it best to seek other options and that's when Leena went ballistic. She tried to Kill him earlier today right in the next room. I'll show ya.”

Winston walked the two into the hallway where Leena had pinned Egon to the floor the marking from the dagger still in the floor along with the stains on the rug from whatever substance she poured on him. As he was about to tell them what she did Leena came racing up the stairs flanked by the three cloaked figures.

“There they helped him escape with the witch.”  
Cricket wheeled around and looked at Egon. “I thought you didn’t know who sent the eye. Leena may be crazy but she knows a magic user when she sees one. Mortimer, Rook take them in for questioning Leena too. We’ll get to the bottom of this soon enough.”


	21. Chapter 21

Egon had proven to be quite stubborn about Evinrude’s remedies. While they didn't like him fussing about it they knew it was a normal behavior for him and that alone was a welcoming sign. Before he could be stitched up Evinrude packed the wound with several powders that they said would help heal the damage caused by the dagger. Once that was filled they wrapped it in bandages soaked in something thats smell could almost be likened to turpentine. Once done Ray and Pete could finally let go of him for a while. That routine was getting old no matter what. 

“Now I think it's time we work on chasing that shadow demon out. Morgan bring the pot of soup. Morgan hopped up from her seat a devilish grin on her face. “With pleasure Evinrude.” 

The soup as it was called smelled like hot garbage and looked twice as bad. Morgan filled a bowl up and handed it to Egon. “drink up”

He looked at the bowl in front of him and then at her. “No”   
She shoved the bowl closer to him. “I said DRINK IT”  
Evinrude was carefully creeping up behind Egon a needle in one hand and a nail in the other. In one swift motion the needle and the nail were both stuck into Egons arm. Morgan muttered something under her breath and with no complaints Egon suddenly drank the soup no questions asked although his body language showed he was fighting it much harder than it seemed. Once the bowl was empty Evinrude took the nail out of his arm and walked over to Ray.   
“I will keep him here till morning he needs to drink that soup at sunset every day. I will show morgan how to make it since it was her fault this happened to begin with. The first few days are very rough He will have fevers chills and more than likely night terrors. He is also incredibly vulnerable. Until the demon is gone he has no magic which means anyone and anything can kill him even with the protections placed on him by his mother. If he refuses to drink place the nail in the arm he normally uses, morgan knows the spell to make him drink. He will be rather week for a while. His body will be adjusting to not having the extra stamina provided by magic. This process can take as little as a month but has also been known to take years if the demon is stubborn. we will just have to hope Leena's exorcism attempt gave us the head start we need. He will also need to eat a cup of salt and 1 clove of garlic a day for the first week. This can be mixed into his food through the day. Lastly this is the hardest part no sweets. Demons are very partial to sweets and we are doing everything we can to chase the demon away we are forcing them to break the bonds that keeps them on this plane. Once they give up and the bond is broken one of my birds will come get me for the final seal. They are around when you least expect it so you won't have to look for them.”

Peter looked at Ray . “no sugar….. That might be the hardest thing in the world for Egon. I mean we are talking about someone who puts candy pieces in their cereal like a five year old. If we want this to work we are gonna have to remove every bit of sugar from the firehouse.”

He had a point Egon was definitely a sugar junkie but perhaps in his current condition it wouldn’t be too bad for him. 

“So how will we know when it’s done? What do you need to do after that?”  
Morgan looked over at Evinrude. After they exchanged some troubling glances Evinrude shook their head.   
“Trust me you will know but you wont need to worry about that. Right now you need to focus on the present. We will deal with the future when it arrives.”  
Suddenly a bird frantically tumbled down the chimney and tumble onto the floor at their feet. It stood up and raised a wing as if to salute Evinrude.  
Upon doing that the bird now took the form of a young man standing at attention.   
“Evinrude your message was intercepted but the hunters order. They have Leena in custody but the two that remained behind have also been taken in by rook and mortimer. No one knows where you all are however there will be hell to pay id the council finds not one but 2 magicals that have not been registered especially since on is a Spengler and they were told he had no magic. I'm not sure how they will handle the mortals but Leena didn't seem to leave with them against her will. If you wish I can attempt to redeliver your message to Radak. In my human form I can easily pose as someone going on an evening stroll. The hunters are on too high of an alert to risk deploying the eye of odin again. They will be watching and tracking.”  
The man stepped back and gave a deep bow waiting for Evinrude’s orders. 

“Thank you crane. I didn’t realize attention had already been drawn to the matter. That was foolish of me. You may go to Radak but tell her she needs to use a traveling spell otherwise she will surely draw attention to herself. She has never made any effort to blend in with the mortals of the times and while her eccentrics are normal for the city life anyone who knows of us will easily spot an old druid without any doubt. Go quickly but safely. For now i feel the mortals will be safe as the Order typically does not hurt them even if they have information they treat them as unfortunate people caught in the middle. That said Leena is still out there she won't be able to track Egon out here but we can not send him home if she is around and loose.”

With that Crane resumed his avian form and left through the chimney. 

“What do we do now? We can’t just leave Janine and winston like that. Where did they take them?”  
Evinrude quickly shushed Peter.  
“You have nothing to add that will help them they will hold them they will question them and they will return them home. It is incredibly unlikely that the hunters will harm them just hope that they choose their words carefully. They will search the premises anything they find will be confiscated for evidence. I have already had Crane collect anything incriminating he and the others will hold onto the books until this blows over. It looks like I will be watching your friend for a while longer. Perhaps its best in the end maybe we can flush this demon out quicker. For now let's have a proper meal and break bread. I’d like to know more about you mortals.” 

They spent the next hour helping to cut prep and cook as Evinrude moved between checking Egon and micromanaging how things were done. When dinner was served Ray took the chance to go look in on Egon. The needle Evinrude had given him was a sedative to prevent any outbursts for the time being. He would need his rest. Ray had a feeling that this whole ordeal would be just as taxing on him as the events that started all of this. Daniel wouldn’t give up as easily as Evinrude assumed. He was sneaky and desperate and so was Leena. 

The thought of her made him see red. He couldn’t believe he thought for a moment that she was at least a little bit cute. He should have known better. Never date a girl that Peter has already gone out with and dumped. When he entered the room he was surprised to see a small black bird patiently sitting at the foot of the bed. It cocked its head from side to side and then hopped down to the floor. Suddenly standing before Ray was a middle aged woman with hair nearly to the floor and not much else on standing in front of him. He went to shout but she cupped her hand over his mouth.   
“I'm Radak, Evinrude sent for me. Who are you?”  
He stood there his mouth hanging open unable to find the words he needed.  
“Oh nevermind”  
With that she grabbed his hands and pressed her forehead against his.   
“I see so you’re one of the poor mortals that was roped into this. And a ghostbusters. Well I need to discuss that later but for now let's go talk to Evinrude.


	22. Chapter 22

The car pulled up to an old and worn municipal building. Winston had seen it several times but never gave much thought to the buildings actual function. On either side of he and Janine saw rook and mortimer. They both had the physique appropriate for a bouncer or a security guard or in their case hunting monsters. The ride was quiet and awkward. Neither of them had any clue what was about to go down. As they entered the building they were met at the door by a surprisingly familiar face. 

“Gentlemen I am walter Peck I represent the ghostbusters on behalf of the city and state of new york. Any and all actions complaints and questions regarding their work must first come through me. I'm sure we can have this matter straightened out in a reasonable length of time without incident. Now if you would not mind I would like to see my clients privately please.”

For once it was a pleasure to see walter peck going to bat for them. In the days since the new years eve incident Peck had taken on an oversight position for any and all supernatural extermination services that chose to operate in the city. This kept any amatuerts from messing with things they clearly had no real knowledge of. He could be frustrating and irritating to work with but in the end it was good for them especially legally speaking. Walter peck was a tenacious man who as they learned you never want to be on the opposing side of and He was confident that this would be fixed sooner than later just as he said. 

The two men nodded and walked them into the building still watching them as if they would try to run. Once inside they were shown to a small conference room and the two men exited stopping just outside the door. Walter walked over closed the door and then took a seat. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose it was clear he was already over this whole experience.  
“Now who would like to fill me in here. I was getting ready to leave for a nice relaxing vacation and instead i get a call that you somehow interfered with a…...witch hunter. If i didn’t know the things I knew i would think you all needed a padded cell. Mr. Zeddemore perhaps you should start and choose your words carefully i'm not so sure we have complete privacy.’

“Well ya see it’s really complicated since I wasn't there for a good part of it and janine for even less of it. All i know is last weekend when Egon went to take care of things at his mother's house some shit went down between him and the neighbor. Ray said they argued he literally got thrown off the property and then things got worse from there. They came back to the firehouse the next day and Egon was in bad shape he was really sick. We tried everything short of taking him to a hospital because it was clear that what was going on was not something a hospital was equipt for. After we exhausted all our options Peter called in a friend to perform…...an exorcism….. We thought we had it handled but apparently not. We were dealing with it this morning when Leena, the exorcist Peter hired, came in and went ballistic because one of Egons neighbors realized something worse was going on and came to help and apparently…..” He looked around skeptically and then leaned in closer to Peck whispering “She’s a witch and apparently so is Egon.” 

He raised his hand to stop him. “That's it, I have heard enough. I will go and sort this out. It's clear you two have nothing helpful to provide. Do not say anything to anyone unless I am in the room. With luck we will be out of here within the hour as for my vacation I'm not sure that will happen until the other three turn up. Thankfully I'm used to this sort of occurance and my plans are not set in stone.”  
He adjusted his tie and left the room to speak with whoever was in charge. He had only briefly dealt with the Hunters order when he was first assigned to Oversee the operations of the ghostbusters. They made their presence known and requested that their duties never stray past the realm of ghosts and spirits. He never dreamed they would honestly have to worry about them. Why could nothing involving the ghostbusters just be a normal run of the mill event. Everytime he thought they had things down pat they threw another wrench and every time it affected his time outside of work. It was as if the universe perfectly aligned to ruin every single vacation he tried to take.

He made his way to the receptionist desk leaving the two goons standing at the door guarding it as if they had maximum security prisoners inside. “Excuse me. I need to speak with whomever is in charge here. I believe there has been a misunderstanding and my clients have been unfairly detained here.”   
The young man at the desk looked up from his book.   
“Oh yes. You need to speak with Director Fritz. Take the elevator to the third floor make a left its the office at the end of the hall. I will Let her know you are on your way up.”  
He turned and made his way to the elevator unsure of what he should expect of this director Fritz. If her employees were not above unlawful detention of people he wasn’t sure she would be much easier. But perhaps she was in charge because she was above all that.”   
After what seemed like forever the elevator arrived at level three. He took the left and went straight down just as instructed. He arrived at an office door with black out curtains over all the windows to see in as well as covering the window on the door itself. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply.  
“Get in here” An impatient voice snapped from inside  
Sitting at the Desk was a Gorgeous yet professionally dressed woman. Her dark hair was pulled back in a very messy bun and it looked as if she had been living at her office. Mounds of paperwork were strewn about the room in chaotic piles. He chuckled to himself. He knew the situation all too well.  
“Good afternoon Director Fritz, I’m Walter Peck I represent the two members of the ghostbusters which your team has-”  
“I Know who you are just get on with it I don't have all day”

“Oh well, It appears that the two people you have brought in for questioning honestly have no clue what's going on. Their involvement in the events leading up to today are minimal at best. Ms. Melnitz was only vaguely aware that something was not normal when she arrived for her shift this morning. Furthermore-”

 

“Do you know how big of a problem has been dropped on my desk by all this? No you don’t because you stupid little mortals are so chained to the idea of justice and due process that in the time it take you to be fair people die. In my work it's a judgment call. All i know is that in the last week the hunters have had their hands full with witch and warlock uprisings centered in this area and then we intercept an odin's eye spell which no registered witch or warlock is even allowed to use reporting a rogue hunter trying to perform a restricted exorcism and we find out that there was a mass killing of witches not unreasonably far from here. So you want me to wait around and politely ask questions and waste time with due process while countless lives are put at risk or lost? Is that was you mortals call justice Mr. Peck? Because i don't see the justice in it. To me the only good witch is a dead one. Do your ghostbusters let ghosts free because they seemed like they were really good? No they catch them no questions asked and lock them away for all eternity and why is that? Because they present an immediate thread intentional or not. I suggest you find the three that are directly involved or the Hunters order will hold them accountable as accessories public endangerment and they will be dealt with accordingly. Here there is guilty until proven innocent. The clocks ticking Mr. Peck you have a very generous 48 hours to prove that your ghostbusters have nothing to do with this your way after that we deal with it my way. For now they are free to go but if they try to leave the city limits we will take that as an admittance of guilt and that will be the end of it.”

As she was raving and ranting to him about the situation from her side of things He had time to look around at her desk. He could see a wedding band dangling from a chain around her neck as well as a photo beside a mound of paperwork with her and what he could only guess was her husband. As she had become more irate in her ranting she had stood up from her desk and that is when he saw she was also very pregnant. It now made perfect sense. The black out curtains the urgency to find the cause of all these problems she hadn’t just lost workers. He stood from his seat.   
“Director Fritz, I want to express my sincerest apologies I am very clearly not as aware of the situation as I thought I was. I will do absolutely everything in my power to track down and bring Venkman stantz and spengler in for their side of the story. Additionally if it's of any comfort to you I am incredibly sorry for your loss. I can assure you that these people are not directly responsible for his death and I know they will do everything they can to help hold those that are accountable. They are good men I can truly vouch for their character and I would go so far as to stake my life on it.” 

He could see that her entire posture had changed. The solid power pose was now shrunken down and frozen in fear.  
“What was that last name? That last man you mentioned who is he?”

He stood puzzled by the change in her.  
“Spengler, Egon Spengler. Do you know him?”

 

She shook her head. “No, but I know of his family. We were told the son was completely mortal nothing about him pertaining to magic. I know his mother passed within the last few months. I had hoped it had not come to this. Their foolish attempt to protect their child may have doomed us all.”

He was now completely baffled by all of this. We went from a small breach in a pecking order to absolute doom.   
“Egon wouldn’t harm a fly he might dissect it and study it but never cause harm. He's a very logical and scientific person doesn't believe in magic at all. How can he possibly harm anyone let alone doom us all?”

She sat back in her chair. “The spengler family is a family of warlocks and witches turned hunters of their own kind. It was said to have started when the love of the first Spengler hunter was killed by a jealous witch who was angry he fell for a mortal. From that point on they devoted their life to protecting innocent people from witches and warlocks who intend them harm. They were rivaled only by the Van Hellsing family however, over time their methods proved to be a bit more humane. What started out as a death to all campaign took a more compassionate stand which the public servants preferred to the methods of abject terror of the Van Hellsing family. About 200 years ago it is rumoured that in a fit of rage over her disbarment from the hunters order Leena Van Hellsing, who you know as Leena Hezling, Made a contract with a fallen angel to wipe the Spengler family off the planet for good. It took her time to disappear and then re establish herself in the new world undetected and by then a few generations of Spenglers had already made headway in controlling the witch population even going so far as to tether the coven of dark witches that established themselves among the settlers to the small village that would remain the family home up to this day. Now the last generation history repeated itself but with a happy end. Edwin Spengler met and fell in love with a mortal. They married and settled in the family home. Before the birth of their first and only child his father was lost on a mission to stop a family of witches who were tormenting a town nearby. Rumours had been spreading that despite his being half mortal their child was set to be the most powerful Warlock in Spengler history. This piqued the interest of the hunters Order who while they worked with the Spenglers did require they be registered just like all other magicals and there for restricted from performing old and powerful magic such as odin's eye. Upon the babies birth they were visited by Daniel the current coven leader of the witches in their neighborhood. He questioned the power of the child but before he could get close enough he was banished from the house and they insisted he had shown no signs of magical ability. We tested the child and it appeared to be true. We had no reason to think they would lie but clearly Edwin took advantage of the relaxed limits on his magic and he sealed his powers away. With the passing of both parents his powers are now fully released leaving him the target of any creature good or bad but also making him entirely corruptible. It appears that with the Spengler families power unchecked and an unskilled mortal at the helm of the family, the witch wars have begun again to grapple for power. My husband was lost in an uprising that we tried to quell recently. I told him to let someone else handle it for once in his career leave it to someone else but he was a dedicated man. At the end of the day he died to protect us all.”

The weight of this situation was not lost on Peck as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He was entirely out of his element now. He needed to find the others. From his perspective this was worse than vigo and gozer combined by a mile. He rose from his seat and showed himself to the door.   
“Director I will do everything I can. Please Do not hesitate to call upon me for anything you need.”  
He wasn’t sure how they would find them but he knew they had to try.   
He made his way back down stairs to collect Winston and Janine. When he arrived on the ground floor he was met by a young woman  
“Mr. Peck I am Cricket Trove, Director Fritz has requested that I accompany you along with Mortimer and Rook to find the other three ghostbusters. I can promise no harm will come to them as long as we are not attacked. If anyone makes a move against us I can no longer guarantee that persons safety do you understand?” 

He hated to think that anyone would try anything but he also realized this issue was much bigger than he anticipated. If he had been told 10 hell 20 years ago that he would be overseeing paranormal exterminators and meeting with a council of monster hunters he would have told them they were insane. The arrived at the conference room to collect the rest of their party and get to work finding the others. As he opened the door winston stood up.  
“Well did we get this straight? We good to go now?” They got up from their seats to leave.  
Walter raised his hand to stop him.  
“It’s not that simple I'm afraid. It appears that whatever is going on with Egon may be having a ripple effect within the magical community. It has already put countless lives in danger. We need to find the others and do what we need to do so this stops before anything unfortunate happens. We will be working with Ms. Trove here as well as her associates to try and track them. We need their information and skills and they need yours. Help each other and with luck no one else will get hurt.”

Winston Nodded and turned to Cricket. “Well Ms Trove where do we go from here?”


	23. Chapter 23

Egon woke up in the same dark place as before but it seemed different now. He could see that it wasn’t quite as dark as before. He even felt a little less afraid of it. He was sitting on a chair this time rather than standing in a blackened void. He tried to get up but was completely exhausted He scanned the area looking for Daniel. Could he honestly be gone? As he wondered about the possibility he was drawn to a particularly dark area of the room. He could hear something scraping at the floor and the jingling of a chain. Despite how tired he was he forced himself to move closer to the corner careful not to get too close. As he approached he heard a low growl and was completely caught off guard when a blackened skeletal creature lunged at him from the darkness its hands resembling the same state of his left arm.   
“Daniel?” At the mention of the name the creature lunged again in a more desperate attempt to get at him. He moved just a bit closer to the creature. “Daniel? Is that you? What's going on? The creature shrunk away from him almost scared. He was suddenly aware that someone or something was behind him.  
“Nope not me” He felt daniels hands around his throat crushing down in every attempt to stop his breathing. He wasn't sure if he needed air in this particular state but his body was sending up alarms. He tried to fight back but was too tired. The creature from the corner had now latched onto his leg biting clawing and scratching at him every mark left begin a black stain that began to spread about his whole body. He couldn't fight it as it quickly spread as he struggled his form slowly changed beginning to match that of the creature on the chain. He suddenly began to thrash and fight as if his life depended on it. He could feel himself being pulled and grabbed from every angle as the darkness closed in. 

Egon had begun to thrash and foam in his sleep tearing at who or what ever was near him. They quickly moved to try and stop him before he hurt himself. Ray made the very foolish move to try and grab his left arm only to be slashed across the face and chest by the edges of the claw.   
They struggled for a few minutes to keep him still when he finally woke up.

He was drenched in sweat and shaking. A look of absolute horror on his face as he began to throw the blankets off of him. As he removed the covers Radak saw that his left leg was now beginning to match his arm. Evinrude who had busied themselves cleaning up Rays injuries stopped dead in their tracks and turned around racing over to Egon. Radak was already examining the change despite Egons attempts to pull away. 

“What’s going on why is this happening I thought we stopped that? The shadow demon was supposed to be dead.”   
Radak turned to morgan and gave her a stern look.   
“Did you attack this man with you familiar child?”  
She didn’t answer but began to back away from Radak shaking her head.   
“I didn’t know all this would happen. I didn't tell him to attack he was defending me but hes dead now my connection was severed because he was dying.”  
Radak had now pulled Morgan forward by her hair  
“You foolish child! do you know what a shadow demon can do to unchecked magic? It corrupts right down to the deepest core of a person. It kills lesser magicals because they cannot perform the protective measures necessary to save themselves and even the ones with the power to do it may not be fast enough. His powers have been locked away until his parents passed and you infected him the minute your familiar took hold of him and not in a way we can fix this is corruption of the purest state of magic”   
Morgan looked absolutely horrified as Radak maintained a grip on her hair. She shook her head furiously as she began to sob.  
“No no i didn't know. It wasn't supposed to be like this i never wanted all of this. I didn;t know his magic was sealed so young I didn't know it was sealed at all no one did. When he arrived at home his magic was so powerful you could feel it and we all assumed it was just because he was a spengler nothing more. Had i known even in the slightest i would have never touched him.”  
Radak had now released her hair as evinrude was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at Egon’s leg. Ray walked over and sat next to them.   
“Well what now. We have to be able to do something for him. How did you prevent children with magic from being corrupted? That's what the problem is right? His magic had no chance to toughen up so it wasn't as vulnerable. What if we could race the corruption get him just enough ahead to maybe have a chance.”  
Radak had released Morgan and turned to Ray.  
“Easier said than done mortal, magicals spend years learning the basics. At this rate he has a few days at most before he is completely corrupted and gods help us if we have not removed the entity he is bound to your friend will be as good as gone. We need to double down our efforts and perform a proper exorcism.”  
Evinrude shook their head. “You know we are unable to perform a proper exorcism that is a hunters skill and no hunter in their right mind would help us without first arresting at least three of us here. Perhaps we can double up on the soup and try to reset the seal for his magic until we can remove the other problems.”   
The two began to squabble over the best course of action. Peter finally stepped up in between them.   
“Perhaps you are both right. If the hunters order has our friends then we should go back with Egon and tell them we need their help. The three of you can stay behind. It's the best choice we have.”  
Before they could consider the answer a bird gracefully swooped in through the chimney and landed at the center of the room. A young woman stood before them and took a deep bow. “Radak, Evinrude, I come with news. The hunters and the mortals seem to have joined forces they are heading this way. They will pass by us on their way to the Spengler house but if they are searching for us it may not be long until we are found.”  
Ray looked at her in disbelief.  
“It’s not what it looks like they aren’t here to hurt him, who is with them any way can you tell me what they looked like?”  
She scrunched her face together trying to remember.  
“There was a redhead woman and a dark skinned man and a very tired looking man with a beard.”   
Peter shot up from the chair.  
“Did you say tired man with a beard? Oh this is just great. How did they rope him into this. He was supposed to be on vacation not getting in the way here. Looks like we have no choice lets meet them at the house. Maybe he can help us straighten this whole thing out.”  
Evinrude nodded in agreement.   
“Perhaps as a group we can fix this and my home can remain a secret. Quickly morgan you take the two of them Radak and I will take the Spengler.”   
In a flash they arrived at the house the door still propped up in the same haphazard fashion. They had beaten the others there which gave them a chance to pretend they had been there a while. With a flick of her hand radak resoted the door to its proper position and let herself in. as they moved through the house she took it upon herself to correct any of the damage caused by the previous incidents in the house. No sooner did they have Egon back in bed they heard a car pull up in the driveway and several footsteps quickly rush up the drive.


	24. Chapter 24

Winston Stopped just short of the door. He turned to Cricket, Mortimer and Rook.   
“before we set foot in the house I need to know that you will trust whatever Ray and Peter are doing to help Egon. I can’t in all good conscience let you into his home intending to hurt him and anyone in it unless they attack you first. If you can’t promise me that then you don’t go past this door.”  
Cricket stepped forward clearly ready for a fight but Peck got in between them.   
“I know there is a lot at stake for you but we have a lot at stake too. I need you to trust us in how we handle this. We know our limits we know when to turn this over to you. From the sounds of it we may need your back up in other ways.”  
Peter had gone to open the door but had stopped to hear what was going on. Upon hearing both Winston and Peck stick up for them he opened the door to greet them.   
“God save the bureaucrat! Really i mean that Walt. you really put those skills to good for once. So winston who are your new friends?” 

The three hunters had sprung into an attack position at the sudden opening of the door. While Peter had to admit it was unexpected these people were on a hair trigger.   
“Whoa can you ease up there? It's called a greeting it's what we do when we hear someone on our doorstep.” 

He stood aside and gestured for them to enter the house. They could see Ray at the kitchen table with someone and the shadow of at least two others moving around the kitchen. Before they went into the room Peck grabbed Peter and pulled him aside.  
“I don’t know what you all did all I know is I was pulled into this and there seems to be a lot more riding on it that you realize. People have already died because of the balance that has been upset. Families have been destroyed and while I know you don't intend any harm part of my job as your oversight is to prevent things like this. So since you seem to have all the answers,what the hell?”

He could tell that Peter did not realize things were messed up beyond them. He had almost hoped that they were somehow a little more aware of what had happened around them but they were equally clueless.

“Look we hardly know what's happening either. I didn't know there would be some catastrophic butterfly effect here. These kinds of things are normally Egons department but since he’s the cause of it we haven't had anyone to figure this out we are going by the seat of our pants man. If I had thought for a minute that people had died over this I would have called you. How did you think to come here anyway?”  
Peck gestured to winston.  
“He figured it would be worth a shot to look and even if you were not here we could asses what was going on around us.”   
Winston had already made himself comfortable in the kitchen with Ray while Cricket and her associates had congregated in the living room talking amongst themselves. At this rate he couldn’t get anyone to work together if they broke off like that. someone had to break the tension.  
As if on cue Ray got up from the kitchen and walked over to Cricket. He could see now that he was sporting some rather impressive stitches on his face and his shirt had been sliced open seeming by the same thing that caused the face wounds.  
“What happened to him?”  
Peter turned to see what he was staring at.  
“Oh that was from Egon. Seems the problems we thought we were having were worse but then again you seem to have an idea of that don’t you? Look things are gonna get really weird here and if you are gonna help that's great but I can’t say how this is gonna go. I know you’ve probably got a houseplant to go home to and all that so I totally understand if you wanna back out now.”

He knew from experience that the more Venkman was joking the worse a situation was.While he had found it irritating and a loathsome part of his personality he had over the years come to expect it only when the situation was dire. He wanted to leave more than anything but his mind kept going back to director Fritz and everything, everyone, she had sacrificed to try and keep people safe. He would be a total jerk to turn tail and run with some many ready to make the same promise. He adjusted his tie and took off his jacket.  
“You won’t get rid of me that easily it is after all my job to oversee all cataclysmic type situations involving any paranormal elimination group I:E you, sanctioned by the city and state of New York. So I’m here to help in any way I can.”

He had to admit he was impressed with Peck’s resolve to help this time. Whatever he knew must have clearly changed his perspective on field work. 

 

Winston had explained to Ray who the Hunters order had sent and they agreed perhaps someone who wasn’t a witch or Peter should speak with them and see if they would be able to and willing to help out.   
“So I know things look really bad and Leena probably said a lot of seemingly incriminating things but I can assure you that a lot of this happened by accident. The important thing right now is that we need to do an exorcism for him before things get worse. Maybe if we can get him stabilized and under control He can get the witches under lock and key since it seems he’s the reason everything is out of whack to begin with. Evinrude and Radak are doing everything they can to help but there are somethings they just can’t do for him. He’s my best friend I can’t just give up on him. He didn’t give up on me when things went to pot.”  
Cricket nodded   
“If you can vouch for him we are willing to give it a try but if it gets out of control that's on all of you. While I think she jumped the gun i don't think Leena was far off from any of her solutions but perhaps in stable hands we will come out better. I agree we need to set the magical community straight. It seems like they are waiting for a signal they have yet to leave their coven and towns so as long as they stay we are good. Now even if we are successful he may not be the same afterward. The process is quite traumatic for a mortal but I have never heard of anything good coming from a witch being exorcised hopefully being a half breed will be his saving grace.”

Janine felt like she wasn’t quite in the right place. She sat quietly at the table as the three strangers puttered around the kitchen clattering pots and pans. She wasn’t a ghostbuster she was just the secretary and yet she felt like she had to help any way she could. She couldn’t sit on the sidelines this time.   
Wintson came back in the room with Ray and sat down with her.   
“So the good news Cricket said they would help us but we have to let them do it their way. Once they are done you guys can take over. Oh and these are my friends, this is Winston and this is Janine. This is Evinrude, Radak and you both met morgan.” 

Janine gave a polite wave as she did one of the ladies had sat herself practically in Ray’s lap and was playing with his hair. Evinrude quickly yanked her onto a chair away from him.  
“Radak he is here to help, he is not a new play thing for you. Now take this soup and see if you can get him to drink it. If not come get me, we will force it.”  
Evinrude shoved the bowl at Radak and sent her away. Janine hopped up from her seat.   
“Is that for Egon? Maybe I can help. He’s never been one to take his medicine. Perhaps if a friend gave it to him he wouldn’t be so hard headed.”  
Evinrude nodded   
“Good thinking, Go with Radak she will show you what to do. Be careful he may not mean it but he has the capacity to hurt you right now. Watch out for the claws.”

Radak walked up the stairs to the master bedroom where they were keeping Egon. When she got to the door she began undoing several locks on the door which Janine was certain were meant to keep Egon in and not to keep people out. As she was fussing with locks and chains Radak had handed her the bowl of “soup”   
“So Are you the girlfriend then?”  
She nearly dropped the bowl she was holding.  
“What no, why would you ask that.”  
Radak cackled as she undid the last lock.  
“You clearly care for him so what gives? Is he really that clueless?”  
All she could do was look at her feet too embarrassed to admit he was just that oblivious to her affection. When they opened the door Egon was sound asleep on the bed. She almost didn't want to wake him but figured it was important. The minute she walked in the room he sat up.  
“I'm not drinking the stuff again, I already told you that.”  
As he put his glasses on and scanned the room he noticed Janine.  
“Oh, when did you get here. If this is some cheap trick to get me to take that stuff thats a low blow.”

She shook her head and stepped forward.  
“No It's really me and like it or not i'm gonna make you take this. I know it looks awful and it probably doesn't taste any better but you need it so eat up.”  
With that she made one swift motion and had the bowl at his mouth and his head jerked back giving him no choice.  
He began to gag and choke once the bowl was emptied   
“That was a rotten trick where did you learn to do that?”  
She put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look  
“Your mother taught me that trick a few years ago when you had the flu. You were so sick then you probably don’t even remember.”

He sat back as radak laughed at the two of them. She was right. His mother came over to help when they had all gotten the flu from Janine.   
“I'm sorry i shouldn't have snapped at you. I know you want to help. But if you really wanna help you could loosen the chain on my arm and my leg here”  
He gestured to a large iron chain that was tethering him to the bed. The limbs that they help were far from human. She took a seat on the bed next to him.  
“I think we both know I can’t do that but i can keep you company. Ray said they have this figured out. You will be back to normal in no time or at least close to it.”

He never thought normal would sound like such a dream as it did now. He hardly felt like anything would be normal after this incident was done and far behind them. 

 

“Are you insane? You know as well as I that and exorcism of that sort has a very high risk to it. I know we need to work quickly but we would also like to keep him ALIVE. You hunters only ever care about the mortal lives. Raymond I told you they would not be willing to help. They just want their pound of flesh nothing more. It's just unfortunate they are risking so much for it.”  
He was desperately trying to calm Evinrude down as they continued to brandish a wooden spoon at Cricket.  
“Please hear her out. We are dealing with something old and powerful perhaps we need to bring out the big guns. If they don't do enough we will have an even bigger problem on our hands. I’m gonna have to agree we need to take the risk. If It looks like its not working i will tell them to stop but we need to trust them as well and if Peck trusts their judgment I trust him and not just because he is technically my boss. I know at the end of the day he would never hurt us.”   
Evinrude lowered the spoon and threw up her hands.  
“Fine you mortals and your rationality. If someone you trusted told you shit was fudge you would eat it anyway. Do what you want but make sure I have something left to work with.”   
He turned to cricket  
“Well let's get started we are losing time here.”


	25. Chapter 25

“Are you absolutely sure he's gonna be ok? I mean the whole thing seems a bit extreme we chained his arms and legs down but do we really need to chain around his neck and waist? I mean if he can't move his limbs what good is the rest of his body?”  
No one answered them. The three hunters continued to move around the room taking away anything breakable and shuttering the window. Cricket had told Ray they could stay in the room while everything was going on but warned it would not be a pretty sight. Janine decided she couldn’t watch and went downstairs with Evinrude. Radak was curious to see how everything went down and was watching from the doorway. Cricket had told her that she would be unable to be in the room while they were performing the exorcism for fear of magical interference intended or not. When she protested they were quick to point out she was a very old and unregulated witch and they had no idea what effect that would have.

As they were about to start Ray felt sick to his stomach. What if it didn't work? What if he had to stop them and they refused? There were so many risks involved he wasn’t sure how this would end. He had never seen a real exorcism before only the ones in movies which he doubted were quite the same. For one thing they didn't take nearly as many precautions as the hunters were taking. 

Cricket gestured to Winston and Peter.  
“Take this salt go around the room we need everything to stay in here. No matter what you hear him say during this you have to know that it is whatever is possessing him. Until his eyes are his again he cannot be trusted. The sedative will not work once we start this as they will try every trick in the book to get you to stop. We only get one shot if we mess this up there are no do overs because we won't be alive for do overs. Got it? Good. I promise we will do everything to keep him safe but I cannot promise anything more than that. We only have so much control. Much of it is up to him. Hopefully with his magic on lock down this will go by easier that it would if he had access to magic.”

The room looked somewhat cliche with the bed moved to the center of the room after symbols were marked on the floor in salt. The lighting was provided by candles rather than electric lights because as Cricket said she needed the candles to keep track of things.

Cricket opened up a large book that Rook ceremoniously brought in and presented to her. No sooner that she had read the first line Egon’s eyes snapped open however they were cold , empty and black as pitch. He began to struggle with the chains unable to move much do to the level of constraint. He proceeded then to scream threats and insults at everyone in the room with the words for Ray, Peter,and Winston being the harshest since he had the chance to learn the most about them. 

Peter was impressed Ray was doing a pretty good job tuning out every single insult from comments on his love life to his weight and ever some rather personal and intimate jabs that none of them needed to be hearing. He knew they were close but clearly they had confided a lot more in each other than they realized. Most of his low blows for winston were about his intelligence. He sat there like a champ smiling through the whole thing egging him on every once and a while to keep him distracted. 

Cricket was correct when she said it would be a long task. They were already two hours in and he showed no signs that anything had worked even a little bit. Cricket had passed the book to mortimer to read for a while. As he read she began to sprinkle salt on him. Rook was on hand with holy water splashing it at him in between Crickets salt sprinkles. 

At this step things became more intense. Egon screamed and fought with the chains as if his life depended on it. He was make nearling inhuman screeching noises but Mortimers voice continued to boom over him. Ray winced as he could see his ankles and wrists were swollen and bruised where they were pulling against the chains. 

Egon or more precisely Daniel, noticed this weakness and turned his head to Ray.   
“You really want to let them do this to me? You can’t honestly want this. My ankles are breaking and so are my wrists. My skin is burning. I’m in pain. Why are you letting them hurt me? I thought we were friends. I thought you were supposed to protect me. You promised my mother you would look out for me. How would she feel if she saw what you have done. You can stop this. Stop now and I’ll still be alive at dawn but i fear they will kill me if they continue.”

This was really wearing Ray down. He knew it wasn’t really Egon say that and yet he still was Egon. He sounded like Egon he pleaded like Egon. He kept telling himself not to listen but he was dying every time he screamed. He needed to let them finish it was the only way. 

After another hour of insults mostly directed at Ray Mortimer paused and passed the book to Rook. “finish this so that we may all sleep a little easier tonight”

He nodded and took the book. As he began reading the room was shaking. They could see air moving through the room trying to disturb the candles and the salt but they seemed unphased by it. Egons eyes were now completely black no white whatsoever. He was screeching and screaming as he fought with the chains. Peter and Winston were holding his upper body to prevent his fighting the chain at his neck for fear he would break it.  
Ray was cowered in the corner, desperately trying to ignore his painful pleas to make them stop. Cricket gave a nod signaling that it was nearly done. Just as she did this they heard a sickening sound as Egons right leg took one last forceful jerk at the chains resulting in a break below his knee, his ankle and foot. The break allowed him the chance to free himself from some of the chains but not enough as Rook finished reading and closed the book Egon stopped struggling and went almost limp his breathing labored as if he had just run a marathon. 

Radak peeked her head in the room and looked around. “Well looks like you did it and he’s mostly in one peice. Evinrude won’t be happy you broke him though but hey he’s not dead.” 

Peter gently nudged him to see if he would wake up. “Come Egon time to wake up.”  
His eyes opened as he looked around the room. “Ray i’m sorry about what I, what he said. I know those things were never meant to be repeated but i couldn’t stop him. I just i couldn’t do anything.”

He shook his head. “No its ok I know you didn't mean it. I'm just glad it's over. I'm just sorry about your leg.”

He looked down and realized that it was horrifically broken. His foot was flopped in half looking like a sock that wasn't on all the way. The sight and the shock of it was enough to make him sick. He felt dizzy and faint and them nothing.

“Egon? You ok?”  
Winston shook him a little bit. He was breathing but still pale.   
“I think he fainted when he saw his foot. All the stuff iv’e seen him read and watch and that's what gets him. Well let's go downstairs and see how things are hanging with the witches.”


	26. Chapter 26

Janine walter and Evinrude had been sitting downstairs waiting for the screaming to stop. At the worst of it the very foundation of the house shook. It was enough to send a chill down one's spine. It dragged on forever until suddenly everything was still and eerily quiet. Janine looked towards the stairs  
“Should we go up there?”  
Evinrude shook their head.   
“No we need to wait till the hunters are done. Once they clean up the room we can go but it's best we stay out of each other's way. I smell blood I'm no certain whos but someone is bleeding. Walter theres a first aid kit in the pantry grab that. Janine make sure there are clean towels ready. As soon as they are down the steps we will move in.”  
Radak came hopping down the steps her eyes wide she entered the room speaking in a childish almost sing song voice  
“The hunters broke the warlock the hunters broke the warlock.”  
Janine rushed over to her  
“What do you mean what's wrong is Egon ok?”   
Radak cackled and placed a hand on Janine's shoulder.   
“Your boy toy is fine its just a bit of broken bone. Nothing Evinrude and a bit of rest can’t fix but i assure you they could have avoided the break had they just listened to me and adjusted the chains.”

Evinrude threw up their hands  
“Oh shush your only upsetting them either help with the clean up or get out of the way I swear you are worse with every century.”  
They heard a stampede of feet clomping toward the stairs everyone except Ray had filed into the kitchen and made themselves comfortable somewhere near the table.   
“Wheres Ray?”  
Winston looked over at Janine  
“He’s staying with Egon. He didnt like the idea of leaving him alone. He seems mostly Ok. He still has the claws though.”  
Evinrude placed a tray of cups and a pot of coffee on the table.   
“Of course he still has the claws I told you that was our part to fix. There's another pot of coffee heating up you clean up after yourselves. You two come with me we have work to do.”  
As they were heading up the stairs Evinrude stopped and looked toward the door. There was a sudden commotion on the porch they could hear wings and claws frantically scraping at the door. Everyone in the room tensed up as Radak moved toward the door and cautiously opened it.  
There were several large birds on the porch as well as a handful of people clad in black coats just as Cricket and her company were wearing.   
“What the hell is this?” Radak stepped out to inspect the new arrivals. As she did a gentleman in strange almost gothic attire stood in the doorway.   
“Well is someone going to bloody invite me in. I haven't got all night”  
Evinrude stepped closer   
“Calabasas, come in, what are you doing here. Why have you brought hunters to us?”  
The man stepped forward nodding courteously at Evinrude.  
“The hunters order was attacked. Seems the werewolves threw their lot in with the witches. One of my brood saw them arrive and we got as many out as we could. Now if you don't mind we have a lady on the porch that could use some attention immediately.”  
As if on cue they heard a low moan from the front porch and Radak calling for help.   
Walter went out to help her at the sound of the woman's cries. Director Frits was propped against the wall bloodied and obviously in labor. She showed as weak smile when she saw him step onto the porch.  
“Peck, you made it ok.”   
Evinrude stepped out onto the porch   
“Of all the time, why don’t these creatures ever come into this world at a convenient time. Cal do you remember how to deliver? I have bones to set and I know you don’t do well with that.”  
He Nodded “It's been a hundred years or so but it hasn't changed that much lets get her inside.”  
They carefully moved her inside and began assessing the wounds the others had. Most looked worse than they actually were. Evinrude agreed they could stand to wait a bit and they went to make their way upstairs. As Walter went to follow Director Fritz reached for his hand.   
“Please, I can’t do this alone.”   
He stared unblinking.  
“Um wouldn’t you have someone you know a bit better with you director? I mean I barely know you.”  
She tightened her grip  
“My name is Korrin and no I want you here. I trust you to do what I need, not what they think i need. Please this isn't how I pictured this either but I just… I have a gut feeling here.”  
He turned and looked at Evinrude  
“I don't think I can leave her if I wanted she has quite the grip. “   
Evinrude nodded. “I need a spare hand, You, military come with me” they pointed a finger at Winston and gestured up the stairs. 

Cal now had his sleeves rolled up and began to survey Korrin’s injuries  
“ you put up quite a fight director but in your current state i believe the saying she who fights and runs away would have been best applied.”  
She rolled her eyes   
“People were fighting and dying it would have been wrong of me to flee. I know thats how your kind survives but we don't fear our mortality.”  
Calabasas looked hurt by the accusation  
“I beg your pardon madam but had i been as cowardly as you claim not only would i have not stepped in to help i would have left you to either die or give birth alone of the floor in the wretched building so reconsider your position before you throw out those sort of sentiments. I know you are under a lot of stress but you have more than just you to consider in the matter. Now we still have time before this baby is here so let's get these cuts taken care of. Mr..Peck, is it? I'm going to need your help tonight you will get a crash course in bringing life into this world the good old fashioned way.” 

Peter was seated at the kitchen table with Cricket and the others who had arrived. He was taking in the scene around him. It was so bizarre to think that despite everything they had seen everything they had done there were still things he didn't know. He would never have thought all those years ago when he met Ray and Egon that it would lead to something like this. Witches, ghosts, demons, werewolves all of it was almost becoming the new normal for him. He couldn’t decide if he was lucky to have such an atypical job or if he was absolutely insane for keeping it. As he looked around at the crowd in the kitchen something occurred to him.  
“Hey um… you all said werewolves attacked… if you are all scratched and bitten up wouldn't you be well…. Werewolves now? Isn't that how that works? I don't think Egon really wants dog fur on furniture either.”   
Cricket rolled her eyes and got up from the table.  
“No. No one is at risk of turning we have all been vaccinated every last one of us. Even you have. You just don’t realize it.”  
He cocked his head   
“I Have? How, when? Pretty sure i would remember getting a werewolf vaccine at the doctors.”   
A few of the hunters snickered as they listened to him. Cricket continued.  
“Well of course we aren't going to tell you that you are getting a preventative treatment for lycanthropy. It's actually mixed in with flu shots it covers our bases on many levels since most places that would somehow come in contact with werewolves are public service jobs its pretty easy, the state and city require flu vaccines for these positions then you get your flu shot and you are none the wiser. For people who we suspect may have been bitten they are always given a tetanus shot when they seek medical attention which has a more aggressive version of the vaccine to stop any chance of them turning if they are in fact infected. So you see we have had this figured out for a long time. We know what we are doing its just a shame theres a large part of the population thats too stupid to listen to us forcing us to work through people like you.”

Peter scoffed at her  
“People like me? Oh are you saying i'm stupid or something else because last i checked i have my P.HD and I’ve helped save the world from ending on at least 2 occasions. Do you have anything like that to add to your resume Grasshopper? If you don’t then I would back off with the accusation that I don’t know what I’m doing.”

They were now toe to toe in the Kitchen as everyone watched waiting to see what was going to happen next. After what seemed an eternity of edge of your seat tension Walter entered the room and without a word walked right between them forcing them to step apart.   
“If you don’t mind there are better ways to spend your time children. Perhaps you can see about helping the people that are hurt or finding out what our next step is? By the way what happened with Ms. Hezling? Was she left at your building? It would seem to me if shes out on the streets we may have another problem on our doorstep and honestly this house can’t handle anymore problems its past problem capacity and then some.”  
He gestured to Peter as he said this. Before he could snap back with a reply one of the newcomers spoke.   
“The detention level was over run too quickly we can only assume that Ms. Hezling is either still incarcerated or she is no longer alive. Even the were wolves would not be foolish enough to let her out”  
He nodded well let's hope for the best since we have more than enough of the worst. Now if you will excuse me I need to go back out there.”


	27. Chapter 27

Egon was still out when Janine, Winston, and Evinrude came in. Ray was nodding slightly in the chair near the bed. He looked exhausted more so than the others. He had been dealing with a good portion of this on his own trying desperately to keep everyone else safe. He had a bad habit of working himself that way even over small things. Janine softly nudged him   
“Hey Ray, we got it from here there's coffee downstairs if you like.”  
He lifted his head a little.  
“Nah I'm good I promised him I would be here when they fixed his leg. What's all the commotion downstairs? I heard people on the porch also have you noticed it looks like no one else in the neighborhood is home? I took a look outside the window and didn't see a single house lit up/ are we even a little worried about that?”  
Evinrude waved a hand in dismissal.  
“Its normal for most witches to lower the lights at sundown if they even have them on at all. You should keep back from any of the uncovered windows. We don't need people knowing who is here. I'm sure they are at least aware that there are people but hopefully the protective spells on this house prevent them from knowing exactly who is here. We have some more back up down stairs. The hunters order was ambushed by werewolves and the survivors have made their way here with their share of baggage most importantly a woman in labor which really is the last thing we need on our plate right now but I’m not heartless i didnt turn them away. She seemed rather fond of that Peck fellow that came here but i dont think hes the father i think it's just the universe setting people on their respective paths with a proper partner.”  
Ray adjusted in his seat so he could watch them work while staying out of their way. He had never actually seen how a bone was set and while he figured Evinrude’s method might be a bit unconventional it was still worth a look. The moment they placed a hand on his leg Egon snapped awake and had his clawed hand wrapped tightly around their arm.

“I’d be careful.if i were you. I know magic older than life itself and I am not afraid of your claws. Now don’t be such a child and let us do our part.”   
Egon didn't loosen his grip in fact he didn't even acknowledge Evinrude. Ray was now looking at him at his eyes. While they were his they seemed different hollow and empty somehow. He wasn't even staring at them he was staring at the wall straight ahead.   
“Evinrude i think somethings wrong with him. Look at his eyes they are well….. They look dead”  
Evinrude looked up at his face their arm still locked in his grip.   
“Shit I knew we shouldn't have let them do that exorcism shit. Go grab radak and morgan tell radak to summon a serpent and a rooster quickly she will know what to do. Peter! I need Peter as well.”   
Ray quickly scrambled out of the room leaving Janine and winston to try and wrestle Egons hand off Evinrude.   
“Damn how is he not breaking your arm he's gotta be putting a couple hundred pounds of pressure down to keep us from breaking you lose.”  
They were yanking at the long claws trying desperately to force them open just enough.  
“He isn't trying to hurt me just stop me. Believe me if he wanted to do harm to me i would be a smattering on the ceiling by now. Don’t try to open his hand we need him to stay calm.”

Ray came back into the room followed by morgan Radak and Peter. Radak was struggling to control a rooster that was desperately trying to get away in one hand and a snake flailing about in the other.  
“Quickly Raymound you pick first snake or rooster. Quickly we dont have much time.”  
“Uh um Rooster”  
“Good take the rooster from Radak Peter, you the snake. Morgan you help Peter Radak you help Ray. cut the animals throat then make a 1 in cut on the center of your left hand make absolutely sure it is your left it makes all the difference.”  
Morgan and Radak went through their respective instructions. And turned to Evinrude waiting for the next part.   
“Now make sure you get blood from their animals in their cut and then they must press their hands together. Once they have done that i need you each to make a cut on your left palm as well, join your right hand with theirs and place the left palm on his chest.”   
As they completed this part of the process Ray could see the life slowly returning to Egon’s eyes. He suddenly dropped evinrude’s hand drawing back from them. 

“Welcome back Dr. Spengler. If we had been held up just a minute more you would have been gone for sure. I'll have these bones set in just a minute then i need to have words with the master exorcists about properly severing the tie from a possessed halfling.”   
In a few quick and painful movements she had the bones mostly back in place and winston and Janine had began to brace and bandage them.   
“You will need to see a mortal doctor for the rest. I have it stable but bone mending magic is risky at best and if we don't have to do it we would rather not.”   
They got up to head downstairs when a painful yelp was heard from below.   
“Looks like they will have their hands pretty full down there perhaps I will wait to-”  
Evinrude began to sniff the air. As they got close to the window Radaks eyes got wide. 

“Oh no not now. We have to seal off the community before its too late. If we don’t and he dies the whole country will be over run in days.” Radak looked at them  
“Evinrude two things, if he seals the community now we will all be bonded here you, me, morgan, him. We won't be able to leave at all at least not until he has a better handle on his magic and on that note He has NO magical training if he botches this well…… we don’t want to think about that. Not to mention his magic is still contaminated from the shadow demon we don't know what his magic will do when corrupted.”  
Evinrude moved toward the door. “We have no choice now. There are witches and werewolves out there with two goals break that seal for good and kill everyone here. Like it or not we are in for a fight.”

 

While it wasn’t quite time for the baby to arrive they were most definitely close. Cal had placed it at about an hour but it could be sooner as he was a little out of practice. In his talking with Walter he revealed that at one time he was a doctor who provided his services to the poorer parts of the city as he got older he was still largely unassisted in his efforts to help as many felt the poor were the way they were by their own choices and “coddling” them would only deter them from making better choices. When it seemed he would no longer be able to bring his services to them a client of his said they could finally pay him back in a way for his help years ago. Their payback was the gift of immortality allowing him the ability to continue to care for those who would otherwise die. As time wore on the need for help was greater and greater as more people packed the city He found it necessary to bring people into his cause and when the time was proper and of course if the agreed they would become part of his brood keeping an eye on those most in need until such time as society seemed to get its act together and help their own. While things had improved he was sad to say his services were still very much needed. 

He found something comforting about Cal. His dedication to his work was not unlike his own and he found it quite admirable but it also reminded him that even he gets so busy with work he forgets to take care of himself. It always made him feel selfish to worry about time off and relaxing when there was still so much to do. He knew it would all still be there waiting for him if he took personal time but that was part of the problem it would all still be there. No one else would step up, no one else cared they what he did. The process thus far had been rough to say the least. He knew childbirth was not easy to say the least but this woman was already going through so much and it was far from over. 

The old druid from before came down the stairs, arms raised in alarm. “Get up all of you that can fight we have company. Werewolves and witches are surrounding the house we need everyone out. “  
They shot a look at Cal and Walter.  
“You two of course stay where you are. Cal I need you to help outside as soon as you are done with her we need all the muscle we can get.” 

People began to clamor around heading for the door Korrin looked at the two of them. “This was absolutely not covered in the birthing class scenarios”  
Walter for whatever reason could not contain his laughter. She had to be making an attempt at a joke and at the worst possible time. He had to applaud her attempt. To his surprise she was also laughing.A loud somewhat obnoxious laugh that ended with an equally hilarious snort that sent the two of them into giggle fits for the next few minutes until of course the next contraction.

He knew she was doing her best to be as tough as she appeared but every grip on his hand and the look in her eyes told the story of a woman who was close to losing everything. He could hear the commotion outside as screams and howls came to a pitch around them. As the screams got closer it seemed so did the arrival of a hopefully healthy child. 

“Almost there Korrin just a few more breathes and one big push. I'm going to count to three. One, Two, Thr-”  
On the count of three the door blasted open and several large figures entered the room. “Looks like we got a birthday party in the making boys and a goody two shoes vampire to boot. I can handle them the rest of you up stairs stop the warlock at all costs.” 

Cal nodded to Walter. “I can hold him off you need to take my place she's almost done the hard part make sure the baby is breathing the mother isn't bleeding and cut the cord then get out of here there's a safe room in the cellar. Ill try to come for you when I have an opening.”

 

He quickly turned to face the Werewolf standing before him “must we further this tired stereo-type?” the werewolf merely responded by tackling Cal sending them both sliding across the floor toward the kitchen.Walter was trying to remain calm keeping Cal’s instructions in his head as he could hear the clattering and banging around him he kept his eyes on Korrin. After several reassurances that it was almost done and one more count to three He could see the top of the head and within a minute he was holding a screaming baby girl in his hands. He could hear Cal behind him congratulate Korrin between punches. He handed Korrin the child and began to move her when she stopped him.   
“I'm still hurting, somethings not right.”  
He frantically looked around for Cal who had been pushed back into the kitchen area.  
“CAL SOMETHINGS WRONG!”   
He heard a weak whimper like a dog being kicked and then vlad appearing in the doorway.   
“What is it whats wrong?”  
He came over and began to inspect Korrin.  
“Director were you going to mention you were expecting twins?”  
She looked at him bewildered. “What, no the doctor said only one.I can’t do that all over again i cant its just gonna have to stay there.”  
He chuckled under his breath.  
“No can do. They are determined to make their way ointo this world. You are lucky it seems to be in the correct position now let's finish this. Walter i'm going to need you to multi-task here cradle the baby with one hand hold her hand with the other she needs your support right now. I'm going to count to ten when i do that take one big breath and then push for me as hard as you can I promise it will be over after that.”  
With Cal’s help they began to hear the cries of another child. “ well looks like another little girl. Congrats director. Now then let's get you three out of harm's way shall we.”

Walter helped Korrin up and they moved toward the Kitchen cellar safe room Cal had the babies in his arms now cleaned and wrapped in a clean towel. He led them to the safe room door careful to step over the body of the werewolf who had declared he could handle them. Walter Opened the door and moved back to let Korrin and Calabasa down before she could take a step forward a figure leapt forward sending it and walter hurling down the stairs.   
“WALTER!”  
She could hear the growling and walters screams as he struggled with the werewolf that had caught him by surprise. Cal quickly handed her the children and rushed down the stairs praying that she was not too exposed in that moment as any werewolf would happily make a meal of two defenseless children if they could.

He came to the bottom stair just in time to see Walter smashing a stone from the floor over the werewolf's head. His injuries did not seem as severe as he expected but he didn't want him out there fighting. “Come on Korrin its ok get down here quickly now.”  
She came down the stairs to find a very definitely dead werewolf and Cal helping walter off the ground, He was covered in blood and at the moment she wasn't sure how much of it was his.

The safe room had a cot and two chairs in it and not much else. Walter quickly made himself comfortable in the chair offering the cot to Korrin.  
“It's fine….. You need it …….. More than me.”  
He looked clammy and somewhat flushed. She could see looking at him there was no sign of injuries despite the fact that he had gone weaponless against a werewolf. She eyed him suspiciously.   
“Walter did you get your flu vaccine this year?”   
He looked up at her confused.   
“Weird time to ask but no I cannot get the vaccine I'm allergic to eggs.” 

Cal stopped in the doorway “ what did you just say?”  
He turned to Cal  
“I said I can’t get the flu vaccine I am allergic to eggs”  
As he said this he felt dizzy almost sick to his stomach.His body felt like it was on fire. He was now doubled over in pain on the floor. It felt as if his body was trying to explode out of itself.

Cal knelt down beside him and patted his back as he began to vomit heavily on the ground,  
“What's happening to me. What's wrong.”   
Cal shook his head   
“I'm so sorry I never considered egg allergies when we made that vaccine. I'm afraid since you have never received your flu shot you are able to become a werewolf. Normally we could get you a tetanus shot and stop the process but between the actively full moon and the current situation there's nothing we can do. The first few nights are rough, the body does not change immediately for mortals. You will experience painful “bone shifting” and fevers along with severe vomiting. It will be more upsetting than anything. After that we will work on what happens next. I'm going to have to leave you now they need me out there. I'm closing the door and locking it Korrin has the key to get out if you absolutely have to.”  
He laid there barley taking in anything that Cal was saying the pressure in his head was making it hard to hear much of anything. He only hoped it would be over soon and that the others were holding their own a bit better.


	28. Chapter 28

The scene upstairs was no less hectic than the one downstairs. While Radak and Evinrude were giving Egon a crash course in magic the others were planning the best way to defend them till they could forge the seal. 

“Ok we each have a pack but we will have to use traps sparingly. Janine we are gonna have to do exactly what you did you Leena. Don’t think twice about this it is a kill or be killed situation and I want everyone home safe. Morgan I want you towards the back you are the last line of defence before Egon, Radak, and Evinrude. Peter, Winston, I want you on either side of the door. Janine and I will be out in the hallway. We will stop as many as we can before they reach the door but you need to stop them if the so much as set foot in here. Traps are only for witches we have 15 so we will take a few and you guys have the rest.”  
They broke from their huddle and took their respective places. Egon looked up as he saw them move in position.  
“Should we really have people out in the hall?”  
Evinrude moved his head back to attention.   
“You can’t worry about them right now. Trust that they are doing what is best. Now we need you to focus Radak and I will help as much as we can but you are the driving force here. Keep your mind on your goal. You want all the witches sealed here. All magic will be contained in its proper place. Once that is achieved we will take over to stop everything else. Just simply acknowledge the powers that you have been granted and tell them what you want. Do not ask sheepishness will get you nowhere and don’t be desperate as that will only encourage further corruption. Now Lets begin redrawing the seal.”  
Radak and Evinrude began making marks on the ground strange symbols and weird alphabets from times long past came together in a labyrinth on the floor. They had no sooner finished when they heard a commotion downstairs.

“I can handle these two the rest of you go upstairs stop the warlock at all costs”  
With that a herd of people began charging up the stairs. Outside they could hear distant screams and shouts as the hunters tried to hold off as much as they could from the course. The ground around began to rumble. With no warning something crashed in through the boarded window at the end of the hall. Three people entered through as the fourth picked themselves up off the ground.  
“What's the plan now Ray?”  
He and janine were back to back with both sides closing in.   
“We take whats in front of us. Looks like you have witches use the traps ill take care of the werewolves.”

 

Winston and Peter could hear the fight going on in the hall.  
“We gotta go help them winston”  
“No we need to stay put if we give them any chance to come in here we wont have a chance to double back and stop them. We just gotta hope they can handle it.”

Egon was desperately trying to drown out the sounds around him he just wanted the seal to work so they could end this. He could feel the earth practically move beneath him as he focused on the seal at his feet.   
Evinrude placed their hands on his shoulders  
“That’s it boy you are almost there we can end this just get us to the starting point.”  
The house began to forcefully shake as if there was an earthquake. The floors cracked the walls buckled in some places and then suddenly nothing.  
“Thats it its done. Now we are all sitting ducks.”  
No sooner had radak said that Janine screamed from out in the hallway. As they rushed out to see what was going on they were not expecting to see four smoking traps 3 seemingly dead werewolves and Leena.   
With her boot placed square on Ray’s back and a knife to janine's throat she looked at them.   
“I was going to say give me Egon and no one has to die but i think after the events of yesterday morning no one gets a free pass today. Isn’t that right you little bitch.”  
She gently pressed the knife against her throat proving she had no intention of holding back this time. 

Egon looked out the door to see them stopped and almost cowering before someone or something. He had to help. He stood up from the chair and braced himself from one piece of furniture to the next as he made his way out the door.  
“If you go out there you are as good as dead and we can’t bring back dead warlocks.”  
He appreciated Radaks concern but he refused to let his friends get hurt any more because of him.   
“I have no choice”

He finally made his way to the doorway where he grabbed onto morgan for a minute to get himself out into the hall.  
“Leena let them go they don’t know any better. Janine was scared you know humans do extreme things when they are scared. Its me you want. I've already sealed all of the witches back here again and this time there is no leaving for any of us. Go to town on the ones trying to kill us they are the bad ones. But let them go.”   
He now moved himself a bit closer placing himself between Leena and the others. As he got closer she loosened the knife’s position just a bit. She couldn’t keep her guard up on janine with him so close. He took one more step closer as he did so leena moved the knife from Janines neck altogether. 

“I have to say. I'm surprised. Giving yourself up so easily. Most of your kind just delay the inevitable and find a good place to hide. I see you are a smart one. Too bad daddy dearest wasn’t so smart it would have saved us all a lot of trouble.”  
He came just a bit closer and she took her foot off Ray. janine broke free from her and ran over to the others.   
“Now you have what you want , I have what I want”  
He moved closer and nuged Ray with his foot. He was still breathing but he could see the bruises on his face and arms. He turned to Peter.  
“He’s ok just had a bit bruised get him out of the way.Leena and I are going to talk privately go help downstairs.”  
Peter moved over and took off the pack and then hoisted Ray up to drag him off. The events of the next few minutes seemed as if they happened in slow motion. No sooner did Peter have Ray pulled up against him Leena lunged forward sending her sword right through both Peter and Ray and then drawing back towards Egon a sick and twisted smile on her face.  
“now I have what I want. There's no killing you while these two are alive.”  
She stood there laughing, hysterical, and completely insane. The next thing Egon remembered was screaming and then darkness.


	29. Chapter 29

As the sounds of fighting died down around them Korrin could only watch as Walter struggled with the effects caused but lycanthropy. What Cal failed to tell him was that most mortals did not survive the first night and if they did survive the toll it would take on their body took a long time to recover from and some of the effects of the change would lingering afterward. At this point all she could do was hold her children tight and pray he was stronger than most mortals or that it would at least end quickly for him.  
The room around her began to shake again just as it had before but this seemed different this seemed powerful and destructive as if the whole house would come down on them. She tried to get any reaction from Walter but he was too sick at this point. She was just about to flee when she heard a shriek that shattered windows and glass and then silence. She waited for a few minutes and then carefully places the babies on the cot and cautiously made her way up the stairs. 

When she opened the door the air felt still and eerie. Something was wrong but what. The whole house radiated sorrow that she felt to her core. She looked outside to see that the witches that were left were cowering just as everyone else was looking up at the second floor of the house.   
The wall of the master bedroom had been blasted out as if to show everyone what was happening. Egon Had Leena held up in the air. She was clearly struggling and begging for her life, something she would never have done unless she was truly beaten. Then within a minute she was gone nothing but dust. The witches and werewolves quickly scattered the werewolves running far away to parts unknown and the witches knowing the seal was restored took shelter in their houses.

Egon had lost control of his magic. And if something wasn't done there was no saving anyone. Winston and Janine watched as he vaporized Leena where she hung in the air the whole time she begged for the mercy she had not shown Peter and Ray. Janinie didn’t know why but she felt she could help the only way she knew how. Before anyone could stop her she had run forward and wrapped her arms around Egon.  
“Please get a grip you are going to kill us all if you aren’t careful. Please I’ve already lost enough today I can’t lose you too.”

Winston went to step forward and grab Janine away. Radak grabbed him. “No let her try. 

Egon finally turned his head down to look at Janine and at that time he crumbled to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close afraid to let her go.   
“Janine I’m sorry I could have hurt you. I thought about hurting you. It’s just…. Peter….. Ray… it’s all my fault i fell for her trap. I should have just let them kill me days ago.”  
She helped him up off the ground and over to the bed.  
“Egon no. No you shouldn’t have let them. Things would be so much worse than this if you had let them win. Ray and Peter they knew what the cost was. They knew there was a chance. We talked about it.”   
Winston turned to Evinrude.   
“Look is there anything we can do i mean Leena played dirty it hardly seems right It’s just not fair.”  
Evinrude shook their head.  
“There is nothing I can do. It takes a darker magic to undo what has been done. Someone would have to do the Lazarus spell and that person would pay a life for a life. I do not practice dark or light magic so I am unable. We would also need either one for each of them or one very powerful spellcaster.”  
Egon got up from the bed.   
“I can do it. Let me try i can fix this.”  
Evinrude slapped him across the head.  
“Did you listen to me a life for a life. The spell caster doesn’t live to see the happy ending. Janine is right they knew the risk they had their chance to leave. We can do no more for them.”  
Radak groaned and threw her hands up.  
“Oh my god Evinrude you are so insufferable. We both know I can do the spell. I've lived my life and settled my debts long ago. This was probably inevitable. Besides this world bores me. Too many rules about pants and clothes. Hows a witch supposed to properly commune in those mass produced garments. Now everyone out of the way.”  
Evinrude nodded and reached out a hand.   
“Until the next life old friend. I’ll finally have some peace and quiet.”  
She laughed and reached for their hand.  
“I'll find someway to keep annoying you in the end. Tell those boys not to make me regret this.”  
She sat between Peter and Ray humming and singing to herself. Within a few minutes she was gone. They stared waiting for something any sign of life. Just when it seemed as if the spell had failed Ray rolled over and began to cough.  
“Aw jeez I feel like crap.”  
Winston threw his arms around them as they began to sit up.  
“Thank god. I'm so happy to see you guys alive. You had us worried for a minute”


	30. Chapter 30

Korrin found her way over to Cal who was inspecting the injuries that Cricket had sustained in the fight. She was now missing and eye. A right of passage for her family who in all their generations of hunting firmly believed you were not the best hunter you could be until you lost some part of your body. She tapped Cal on the shoulder to pull.his attention away.  
“I think she's the least of your concern. I really need you to look at Walter. He’s gotten so much worse. I don't know that he's going to survive much longer.”   
He got up from Cricket and made his way toward the house. As they entered the kitchen Evinrude and Winston came down the stairs.  
“Cal, we need to get him up here you and Winston bring him to the couch. Korrin take your children and go home please. There is nothing you can do for that man.”   
Korrin started down the stairs but then turned to Evinrude.   
“NO I can’t leave him. I owe him that much he could have literally left me to the wolves if he liked instead he stayed and he damn well might die because of me.”   
Winston looked between the two of them.  
“Die!?! What happened to him shouldn’t we be doing more than just standing here?”   
He quickly moved down the stairs where Cal had already gone. As he came to the bottom of the stairs he saw the body and the bottom its head gruesomely smashed in. He could hear Peck moaning in the other room. As he entered he saw him lying on the floor. He looked pale and clammy and his breathing labored. Korrin came down the stairs and pushed into the room to claim her children who were peacefully sleeping unaware of all the chaos surrounding them as they entered this world. Before she picked them up she knelt beside Walter and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“Thank you for everything you did for me. I already told Evinrude I was going to stay with you. Once you can be.moved we will go back to the city and stay with Calabasas he can look after you while im working. Just promise me you won't give up. I can't begin to imagine what you are going through."  
She stood up and took the babies upstairs leaving Winston and Cal to take him up. Evinrude had cleaned off the couch and placed clean blankets over it to prevent any more mess if at all possible. Morgan was in the kitchen working at the stove the old book she brought to Ray propped open next to her.   
"Ok Ray I need you to chop up the rosemary and mint and crush a half a clove of garlic. Once the wolfsbane is done steeping we can add that to the pot. Ok next we um….. oh that's a problem. Evinrude i don't suppose you have a phoenix egg just milling about?"  
Evinrude came into the kitchen and looked at the book  
"Nope Won't do him much good anyhow. He's allergic to eggs that's what got us here to begin with. We are going to have to take a shot at not including that. Try chicken blood in its place there's still one upstairs. You go upstairs."   
They pointed at Rook who had been staring blankly into a mug of coffee for the past few minutes. He looked up at them.  
"Oh me? Um right I'll be back in a moment. Just um right."   
He scrambled. Up the stairs practically tripping over himself. Morgan shrugged.  
"Wonder what's eating him. He seems awfully skittish."  
It was at the point Ray looked around and realized that Mortimer was nowhere to be seen.  
"I think….. I think he lost Mortimer. I have not seen him around since everything went down. Cricket is here but no mortimer."   
Morgan looked almost embarrassed now that she thought about it. 

Rook had made his way up the stairs to the master bedroom. It was still a mess from the days events with the exception of the wall which he assumed one of the witches managed to fix. He scanned to room looking for what remained of the chicken after a few minutes of searching he found it discarded in the corner. It had been a long few days and it seemed as if it was finally over but at what cost. Director Fritz had lost her husband, these ghostbusters had their entire life uprooted in ways they couldn't begin to imagine and he had lost his best friend, his brother, the only one he could count on. They had been together since their parents died on a job gone wrong, raised by the hunters order never knowing the outside world. Now he wasn't so sure. He always believed he was ready to fight and die for the hunters but now he didn't think he cold keep that promise. Realizing he was probably gone too long he took the chicken and headed back down stairs.   
"Here I hope this is ok. I"m going to leave now. I don't think i'm quite useful right now."  
He turned out the door but stopped in the living room area where Korrin and Walter were.  
"Director, I'm going to see myself out I think in light of recent events I will be gone for the foreseeable future." He turned to leave and then stopped .  
"Um….. how do i get home exactly. If I understand correctly, there is no magic in or ou and well….. I don't drive."   
Peter came down the steps wearing clean clothes that were just a little bit too small for him.  
"Did I hear someone say they need a ride? I'm gonna take Janine home anyway sooo Venkman's taxi service is open for- oh hey what happened to him? "

Peter was now leaning over the couch inspecting Peck. He looked dead almost but he was still very clearly breathing. Call had been placing damp rags on his head to try and help the fevers but it didn't seem to do much for him. Seeing Peter's curiosity Cal looked up at him  
.  
“Dr. Venkman this is unfortunately what happens when a mortal is bitten by a werewolf. It seems that our plan to use the flu vaccine has hit a snag. We were unaware those with an allergy to eggs were unable to take it and because the circumstances did not allow access to and administration of a tetanus shot he could not be spared. At this point we can only wait and see.“

He had to admit he felt a little bad for Peck but he also gave him every opportunity to leave. Janine came down the steps ready to leave. She turned to Ray and Winston.  
“I'm going to keep an eye on things at the firehouse. Let me know when you guys are ready to come back i will change the phone message to say we are open. Winston keep both of them out of trouble while you are here. I think we have had enough drama over the last week to last us a lifetime.”  
She gave them both a hug and met Peter in the other room. He took one last look around the room   
“Last call anyone else need a ride? Outside now.”  
The battle had certainly taken its toll. They were greatly outnumbered and in the end not even half of them survived. The few hunters that remained took that as their chance to leave and made their way to the door. With that the house was mostly empty at this point which would make things easier to take care of Peck who was showing no signs of improvement.


	31. Chapter 31

Egon had moved to his room down the hall and had requested that he not be bothered. While Ray wasn’t too fond of that request he understood how taxing the last few days had been. He was trying to get comfortable on the bed but couldn’t stop thinking about everything that happened. He completely vaporized someone and the scary part of it all was that he enjoyed it. He knew he had a bit of a temper but then again most people did. Most people didn’t enjoy the idea of vaporizing someone no matter the reason behind it. It scared him to know he held that kind of power and he didn't seem to have any problem using it. What was to stop him from hurting someone close to him someone important. He could never live with himself if that happened.   
He would have to decide if he really thought it best to leave a place that could in the end keep him contained. After all he still hadn’t managed to get tis of the long black claw that had taken over his hand and it wasn’t like he was going to be walking around any time soon. He needed this time to figure a lot of things out. He knew Ray would want to stay but he needed him to go back. New York was more than likely going through quite a bit of odd supernatural occurrences brought on by recent events and they would undoubtedly have their hands full so all hands on deck was their best bet.


	32. Chapter 32

Morgan had just about finished with the strange concoction for Walter. She was a little hesitant about giving it to him but seeing as though his condition was only getting worse what choice did they have. She took the mug over to Cal.  
“See if you can get him to drink it. Hopefully it will help at least maybe with the pain. It's just about sunrise do you think he has a chance? I mean he made it this far?”  
Cal merely shook his head saying nothing. His expertise in more supernatural ailments was unsurpassed by only Evinrude who chose to let him handle this. If he wasn’t giving a guess it was because he had a pretty good idea of what the answer was. 

While he felt that the effort was mostly useless he had to admit that he didn’t seem to be giving up just yet. That said if he were going to survive at this point the fever would have broken. With Crickets help he was able to sit him up and get him to drink but there was not much of a response. He hoped that maybe with the breaking of dawn his body would at least have a chance to settle.

 

Sure enough after the sun had been up for a while the fever had broken and Walter was making an attempt to sit up. Something that surprised both Evinrude and Cal who had been watching from the kitchen to avoid the light of the morning sun.  
Evinrude shook their head.  
“Something isn’t right with that man. He should have been long dead or completely out of control by now. Mortals are not compatible with lycanthropy even more so in this modern age where exposure is so limited. Do we know if he has any magic in his bloodline? It seems rather unlikely but then look at how easily he was able to take command of a paranormal operation and make it work with the city and he managed to bridge communication between us and the hunters better than- wait…. Oh no. You don’t think his family was a viaduct family back in the days?”

Cal turned his head and looked at her.   
“A what?”  
They were now scrambling through the kitchen flipping through the books that were laying around. The noise clearly alerted Korrin who came into the kitchen to see what was going on.   
“What is it you are flying around the room like a lunatic. Do you want to wake my children.”  
Evinrude raised a hand in a silencing motion.  
“Not now we may have a problem. I should have known that red hair it should have been our first clue.”  
Cal was desperately trying to stop Evinrude long enough to explain what they were talking about. Thankfully Ray, hearing the commotion as well had walked in the room and stopped them.  
“I couldn’t help but overhear the word viaduct. I don't know if this helps but tobins does have a small entry and Egons family does mention viaducts in a few chapters”  
Evinrude ripped both books out of his hands and tossed them on the table tearing through them. After a few minutes they stopped on a page in Egon’s book.   
“Here it is.”  
Evinrude began to read aloud from the accounts of the book. The one in question was fairly recent. Dated at May 1953  
a viaduct family is one that is the bridge between the world of magic and the world of mortals. They seem to have the uncanny ability to work with both worlds and are at an almost diplomatic level of correspondence between the two. They themselves hold no magical ability and when exposed to anything supernatural or magical could be very susceptible for malefffects. Problems with lycanthropy are most common among them as most true viaducts are somehow always in a position where normal werewolf preventions do not work for them such as allergies or a universal case of wrong place wrong time. Dad and I recently came across a case of a Viaduct that was bitten by a vampire and while presenting all evidence of being a vampire still retained much of their mortal self. They were still able to cast a reflection and even had a family the only major issue was a severe reaction to garlic which left them pretty much housebound as just walking near it would illicent a near fatal reaction. I have my suspicions that there are a few more viaduct families that have immigrated here after the war and have no knowledge of the potential dangers they could present. While the hunters order has records of all families that have come over there are hundreds if not thousands of families to go through it would take years and as more people come the work will never be over. We have at least found that we can limit our scope to northern Europe but even still that is a large population for such a small group to go through. He says as long as we can control the exposure of the general population the werewolves we will be safe as a viaduct that is infected can because incredible unstable and dangerous if not in the proper care.”

They closed the book and looked around.   
“Well there you have it, He fits the description to a T. The red hair obviously Irish or Scottish in his background and the allergy that prevented him receiving the vaccine as well as wrong place wrong time exposure. We have our work cut out Cal. You might have to do some training.”

“Training for what”  
They all wheeled around to see Walter in the doorway.   
“Did I interrupt? I could kill for some coffee right about now. I feel like I have the world's worst hangover.”  
With that he shuffled over to the table and took a seat. Ray passed him the pot and a cup. After a few minutes of awkward silence and staring he looked around at them.  
“Can I help you?”   
No one seemed to realize that they were all staring at this point. They all looked over at Korrin as if it were her job to answer that question.  
“Why did you all look at me.”  
They all seemed to shrug but it seemed she owed it to him almost as a professional courtesy.  
“Well um… how much do you remember about last night?”  
The question seemed easier asked than answered at this point as he sat staring at her trying to find an answer.   
“Well I remember the girls. I remember going to the stairs to go with you to the safe room. I remember falling down the stairs and the werewolf. After that i don't really have a good handle on it. I remember bits of what seemed like nightmares. I also remember...I think I remembered that wrong…… did you say something about my bones shifting? I know that sounds weird."   
She shook her head   
"No um that's well I did say that.Well Cal said that. The thing is you are-"  
"A werewolf? Damn it. I was warned about this. "   
He placed his head in his hands and let out a small grumble.   
" I'm changing the subject I can't deal with this right now. Have you named the children?"  
Korrin looked at him.  
"Oh well I've gone with the name Irene after my mother in law and Aibell after my Godmother. He was very close with her."  
As she said this Ray choked on his coffee spitting it in his lap.  
"Your what?!"  
Walter was looking up at her.   
"Korrin what is your maiden name?"   
Seeing the strange look in his eye she took a step back from the table  
"Its O'brian…. Why."   
Without another word Walter got up and walked outside. Once out there he could be heard letting out a frustrated shriek that startled all of them except Ray and Winston who seemed to all post be bracing for it.  
"What did I say?"   
Ray took a deep breath.  
" well ya see a few years ago we went out on a job in Ireland turns out the job was for his great aunt. Her name was Una O'Neill. She was cursed by Aibell to live an eternity knowing she had lost her chance for a pure and devoted lover. We managed to get her to release Una and well we kinda figured that was the end of it but it seems she's not done with cruel tricks. I find it hard to believe you two found each other and you just happened to have a Godmother of the same name. He has a lot to digest right now just leave him be I'm sure he isn't angry at you more so life in general."

He had hoped the chance "visit" a year ago from Aibell was just a bad dream. She told him he was destined to live out his days as a dog in the worst ways. He only hoped she had meant figuratively. she came to him on his birthday which he of course spent alone at the office. Was she angry he helped aunt Una? She never explicitly said. She just appeared with no rhyme or reason. Now here he was turned all because he was helping one of her kin. Why did the universe hate him. What had he done to warrant such an illicit response. If he could just get his hands on her. He heard a familiar cackle come from the bird bath. As he walked over he saw Aibell staring back at him though the water.

"Ooooo Walter what's wrong. Get a bit of a doggie bite? Well for what it's worth I planned for that to happen so much sooner. Excellent work avoiding all my traps. I never figured my sweet little Korrin would hand deliver you to a werewolf. Amazing what your family does to survive. A hunter of witches, well there's a first in every family. She doesn't get it from me I assure you. So sorry I couldn't be there in person. Don't want to get caught up in the half breeds magic. Give my best to Evinrude. I’ll come play real soon, toodles."   
Without even thinking he took a swing at the bath only to smash his knuckles against the stone basin. After a few swear words and a couple deep breaths he took a seat in the grass and after a few minutes found himself laid back enjoying the warm from the sun.

The rest of the day was spent attempting to clean up the house that was still in shambles from having been the sight of an all out battle. Walter had fallen asleep outside shortly after they saw him punch the birdbath and thought it best to just leave him be. They had spent so long cleaning they hardly realized that it was nearly dusk and he was still out there. Cricket and Korrin had called a ride to take them home for some much needed rest. Cricket promised to go through their files and find out if Walter was truly from a viaduct family or if Aibell was just messing with him. While Evinrude made quite the point the other coincidences alongside the warning he had already received screamed chaos god playing games.

 

When he woke up Walter felt better than he had a little while ago. He looked around realizing he had in fact stayed out there for a good portion of the day. He was immediately aware that he could sense everything around him. He could hear the tiniest sound of mice scurrying past in the bushes and smell deer quietly slipping past in the woods. He was about to go back inside when something caught his attention. A sweet smelling fragrance he found completely irresistible. He had to find it. He made his way down the path behind the house paying no attention to where he was heading only knowing he had to find the source of the smell. As he rounded behind the houses further and further away from where he started he came to a clearing. He was just about to move forward when a hand stopped him. 

He turned to see Cal had just barley caught up to him.   
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”  
He tossed a fallen branch into the clearing. As it landed on the seemingly untouched ground it was quickly snapped up by an explosion of ropes and chains that came coiling out of the ground. Dragging it under never to be seen again.   
“ looks like Aibell is quite insistent on playing with you and has even sent a wolf charmer to lure you away from here. It will be dark soon i think it's best we get you inside. We are going home tomorrow when Peter comes back to get Winston and Ray. Egon needs to focus on learning his magic so we need to get out of his hair.”  
The walk back was easier said than done. As the light in the sky faded he was overwhelmed with how much the world around him came to life. So many sounds so many smells.   
“Am i going to turn tonight? I see the moon is rising.”  
Cal shook his head.  
“Generally no. Mortals don’t usually turn completely until the next cycle.”   
“Turn completely? So something will happen?”  
He stopped walking and grabbed Cal forcing him to face him.  
“I need answers. I cannot handle hypotheticals and missing pieces. I want you to cut the crap.”  
Cal let out a sigh and took a seat on a nearby stump. He seemed tired, not just physically but mentally.  
“Look it's been over a hundred years since a mortal survived a werewolf bite and we honestly don’t know. I can tell you what the notes say but that's all. Your situation seems to be a bit different too. Most people the bite is an accident but yours was not. Someone sent a werewolf after you. I can honestly tell you that by all accounts you should have died last night. In Fact we thought you had. When we came back downstairs you were barely breathing. I think Aibell is going to make this as rough for you as possible. However, since the moon is up and you are still standing here talking with me i think tonight we will be ok.”

The rest of the walk back was quiet as they moved silently along the trail behind the houses. They arrived to see the Ecto 1 was back at the house and could see peter and winston setting up the table while Ray maneuvered past with a stack of pizzas. 

 

“Oh hey your back. Enjoy the walk? Pete brought dinner. We figured it would be nice to ya know try and do something normal?”

Evinrude was inspection the boxes suspiciously.   
“This is food? It looks like junk”  
Morgan chuckled and reached past her for a slice and went over to the table  
“You should try it. Don't worry Cal we didn't get garlic.”  
He bowed courteously  
“Thank you though i think i shall eat a little later but I would enjoy your company.”  
The kitchen was full of talking and laughing. Even Egon had come down with everyone. As the conversation drew on Walter had barely touched his food. He didn’t feel hungry at least not hungry for pizza. He kept thinking about the smell in the woods he couldn't get it out of his head. 

“What’s that matter Peck not in the mood for pizza. I'm sorry I could have stopped for some kibbles and bits if you had preferred. Tell me ,do you need to get a flea collar now or what.”  
“Peter, I don’t think it’s a good idea to-”  
“To what have a conversation with everyone's favorite bureaucrat? Come on we all have questions about this i'm just saying what we are thinking.”

Ray tried to pull him aside but he was practically glued in place. Peter and Walter hated each other from day 1 no if, ands, or buts about it. Peter always took it to the next level without being prompted. Walter at least didn't push unless he was pushed which to be honest was all the time. Frankly Ray was impressed that he hadn’t found a way to get him fired at this point. 

“Look we can give you a lift home tomorrow but I won't allow you to hang your head out the wind-”  
Walter had now launched across the table throwing Peter to the ground.   
“Is this what you want wise ass do you want me to rip you apart right here infront of everyone just so you can prove a point because belive me it will be the last stupid mistake of your miserable life.”   
The dinner table was now in chaos as everyone moved to either get out of the way or peel the two men apart. Cal and Evinrude took Peck while winston and Ray got Peter off the ground.

“What the hell is wrong with you. I told you NOT to do that and you just keep pushing. That big fuckin mouth of yours could have gotten you killed.”

As he said this Walter dropped to the ground screaming in agony.   
“Jeez what's your problem I didn’t even get a swing in.”

Peck looked up at him   
“Oh….. I don't Know…. My bones are only trying to REARRANGE THEMSELVES.”  
He continued to scream and growl doubled over on the ground. They could hear unpleasant cracks and crunches come from him as his shape steadily changed.

When it seemed like everything was settled he got up from the floor. He was now much bigger and much more threatening as he made a beeline for Pete.   
“I think I'm going to enjoy this. It might hurt my position with the city but at this point I am far past caring.”  
He staggered forward just a bit more. Just as he had Peter backed into the corner ready to destroy him a shot rang out from across the room. Everyone wheeled around to see where the shot had come from but found nothing but a small hole in the window pane.   
Without warning Walter went tearing out the back door after whoever or wherever the shot came from. He went tearing down the trail not knowing what he was going to find but certain he was going to catch up to it any minute now. Without even realizing it he was brought back to the clearing from early where he quickly bolted across to catch the bold assailant. He was almost there when the ground disappeared out from under him and the same chains and ropes came tearing out of the ground strangling his body as they dragged him down against the ground.   
He clawed and struggled desperately trying to at least slow his descent but it was too late. He screwed up. Who ever had set this trap figured out his temper quickly enough and used it against him.   
At this point all he could do is continue to sink until finally he stopped. He felt himself land on the cold ground, It was cool and damp like a cave. He could feel a burning sensation in his shoulder from where the bullet hit him. He could hear someone talking and footsteps heading his way. Two people rounded the corner. One was the person who fired the shot and the other was Aibell.   
Aibell sat down on the floor next to Walter.   
“My my that was too easy.” She began patting his head to which he responded with a snap.  
“Now that is not nice you know better. You know I forgot how much I enjoyed filling Una with torment each year I sent my banshees to extender her worthless life just enough to pain her. At first I thought oh well i can have plenty of fun with the other toys I have collected but somehow their petty little problems just didn’t have the same thrill and this modern age is such a bore for me. Had it not been for you Una wouldn’t have had a chance to die. You let them take my toy but one O’Neil is as good as the next and what better one than you. Although i do have to say I'm a bit disappointed that you tried to kill my favorite ghostbuster.”

The mere mention of Peter made his blood boil.   
“Your taste in people is just as tacky as you are.”  
She looked at him obviously insulted by his remarks.   
“That’s enough out of you. Try finding your place in the mortal world when you bear the features of a year round Halloween costume. We will see how well you can hold it together when you are a little long in the tooth and sharp in the claws. When you are ready to apologize I will gladly make it a little easier for you but I will know if its sincere. Oh and you will only have one shot to convince me so make it count.”   
With a snap of her fingers he was back in the clearing. Still snagged by the ropes and chains.


	33. Chapter 33

Peter was obviously a little shaken as he took a seat at the table. Ray and Egon were both glaring at him.  
“What it wasn't my fault he flipped his lid.”  
Egon pinched the bridge of his nose.  
“Yes it was Peter. You insisted on playing your favorite game of how angry can me make peck today. You can’t do that anymore he isn’t a normal person. This time you got lucky but if he had the chance again I would bet money he would have you dead in a heartbeat. I know you think its funny and i know he isn’t the greatest person to work with but he is for lack of a better word our boss as far as the city is concerned and we cannot afford to sour that relationship any further. When or if, Cal gets him back here I need you to leave him alone. We do not need any more problems.”

He was somewhat surprised in Egon’s tone. He sounded like a parent scolding a child.   
“Fine fine I will leave him alone but only because you asked “so” nicely. Speaking of returns and work any idea when you will be back at the firehouse with us? I mean not that you will be back to work anytime soon with the leg and the shoulder but hey it would be nice to have you available for the research part of the jobs. “

He shook his head.   
“I’m not sure how long it will take to safely adjust the seal. I know we can’t try too many times or it weakens the already established seal which would start this whole issue again. Evinrude said we might be able to try in a week or two but she doesn't expect it to work completely the first time. Believe me i want to be back in my home just as much as you guys want me back but I can honestly say it’s not gonna be any time soon. I can Help from here and you will of course have Ray. If it really comes to it I feel like you could work something out with the hunters IF you can behave yourself.”

Winston came back inside completely soaked followed by Cal.   
“No luck i'm not sure where he ended up but it's starting to rain. Hopefully he has enough sense to head back here before daylight.” 

Cal pulled Evinrude aside.  
“He ended up at a clearing earlier that had traps set by a Wolf charmer. I have a feeling he went back there again but when we checked there was no sign of him. I’m almost certain thats who fired the shot that drew him outside too.”

The phone suddenly rang in the kitchen catching them by surprise. Ray got up to grab it.  
“I bet thats cricket maybe she found what I was looking for.”   
Peter looked at him.   
“Well he got together with them fast.”

Egon went to explain what he was looking for but Ray interrupted.  
“Soooo good news is Pecks family are not and have never been viaduct families that said this looks more and more like Aibell is playing a rather nasty game with him and we can’t really afford to get mixed up in this one. I asked Cricket if the hunters could look into it for and if and ONLY if he asks us to step in then we will.”

Peter rolled his eyes.  
“You mean to tell me he got mixed up in this because of the banshee we dealt with years ago? I knew that job was a bad idea. I’d say we should have charged him and double at that but it looks like he’s more than paying for it now. So once again the lesson has been drilled into our heads DON”T MESS WITH GODS.”  
As if on cue a flash of lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder erupted over the house.  
Winston sat down next to him.  
“Well we keep saying that but another calamity will arise and we won't stop to think about that life lesson will we now. All things aside most of you have gotten off with minimal issues and at least you guys are a little more prepared mentally speaking. Imagine being someone with no real experience or desire to deal with this sort of stuff and suddenly your involved at the highest level. At least we had an idea of what we were getting into it wasn’t just dumped in our laps”

 

Walter had been clawing and biting at the ropes around him hoping that he could get just lose enough to slip out of the chains and find a dry place out of the rain. His shoulder was still burning and aching as he moved around. He stopped as he heard a sound in the bushes. He felt a hand on his back but couldn’t turn his head to see who was there.   
Who ever it was Began to dig at the bullet in his shoulder. Each cut and scrape brought it closer to being removed. As much as it hurt the relief of the bullet finally being removed was worth it. The burning stopped leaving only a throbbing aching sensation.

“Thank god that's out. Is there any chance you can-”  
“Shhhhh. I’m sorry I had to shoot at you like that. I tied to hit you where it wouldn’t hurt so much. I don’t like to hurt my pets.”  
Whoever she was she was now petting him straight down his back. Every touch of her hand was exhilarating and her smell was irresistible. It was at this time he recognized the smell he followed earlier in the woods. 

“It’s ok just relax let's get you inside. No one should be out in this weather.”  
She helped him up off the ground but kept the chains on him. She lead him towards a cottage at the other end of the clearing.   
“That’s a good boy, just follow me.”  
He couldn’t stop himself from following her if he tried. He stumbled along behind her pretty much powerless.

She opened the door to the cottage and brought him inside. She carefully laid him down on a bed in the corner of the room. “I've been waiting for you for a long time. It’s been so long since I had a pet.”

He looked at her. “ I am not your pet. I don’t even know who you are.   
“Oh but you are Aibell promised me. Don’t worry I will take good care of you.”  
He shook his head and growled.

“ I don’t think you understand. I'm NOT yours to claim I'm a human being I make my own choices and I want to go back where I belong. I want to go home.”

She sat down next to him on the bed and laid his head on her chest.  
“Oh now you and I know you aren’t quite human any more. Besides not every werewolf is tasked with a wolf charmer only the really lucky ones. You will see soon enough there is nothing for you in that world anymore. With each passing year the wolf will show more and more. Even now you will be left with sharp teeth and longer nails. I can take care of you.The morning will come and you may look the part but we know the truth.”

She continued to pet him from the back of his head to the base of his spine. He began nodding off and soon enough he was fast asleep. 

When he woke up the sun was just beginning to rise. He could smell pancakes being cooked and was surprised to see a clean pair of clothes next to him on the bed. Sometime during the night his captor, for lack of a better word, had removed the chains allowing him the ability to get up and leave whenever he liked. Unlike the previous morning he felt surprisingly good. He proceeded to get dressed and went over to the stove where she was happily humming and cooking. Clearly she wasn't aware he was awake. 

“Ahem… um… thanks for the clothes. Is it ok if I go now. I'm sure everyone is wondering where I am.”   
She turned and looked him head to toe.   
“I might have been wrong this look seems to work for you. Makes you look a little mischievous. Eat some and then go I don’t get breakfast company very often.”

He had to admit he was hungry he hadn’t really eaten in the last day or so with all that was going on.   
“Fine but can I at least know who you are. I don’t like being kept at someone's house overnight and not know them.”

She giggles and hopped over to the table with a plate of pancakes. She placed them in front of him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and sat down.  
“ I’m Agnes Swift. My family has looked after werewolves for centuries but they are definitely harder to come by these days, that's why I was so happy with Aibell came to me and said there would be a new werewolf in my own backyard. I have tried so many years to find my werewolf ever since I turned 16 I would lay the traps and may the preparations and every month I would wait and wait and wait. See you only have a small window of time to find your pet. If they don't find you by sunrise the night of their first change you lose them. I knew when I saw you change I had to bring you to me and you came. You won't regret this I promise.”

He was watching her talk and faun over him the entire time he was eating. As he finally got a good look at her he realized she couldn’t be much older than her early 20’s.

“Look Agnes this is all very nice of you but I really don’t know that i'm going to continue this. You seen to have some...expectations of me and i don’t think this will work out the way you hope. Out of curiosity how old are you.”  
At this point she had her arms wrapped around him and was playing with the collar of his shirt.  
“Oh I just turned 18 last month.”

He quickly got up from the table.   
“I definitely need to go. Thank you for everything. Good bye.”  
He was scrambling to get out as fast as he could but she quickly stepped in front of him.   
“Wait before you go. I don’t want to see you hurting anyone else. This should help keep the edge off. It's nice with breakfast or before bed but just give it a try once a day unless you want more. Steep it for about 2 min and it should be good to go.”

She had shoved a small bag of what looked like tea leaves in his hand. As he opened it to inspect it he could smell the same sweet smell that brought him there the day before.

“What is this?”  
“Its black tea mixed with wolfsbane and witches flower. Try it you will like it I promise. Now get out of here people are waiting on you.”  
She promptly pushed him out the door and closed it behind him. 

 

Ray, Winston and Cal had taken turns looking for Peck as best they could through the night. Finally they agreed that he was after all an adult and perhaps he had the sense to get out of the rain himself making him hard to find for people who were not overly familiar with the area.  
They all decided it best to get some rest and hope he came back in the morning.

Cal didn’t go to sleep he couldn’t knowing there was a wolfcharmer out there. He went to the back porch and took a seat intending to wait for him. As the dawn began to break he moved inside. Evinrude was sitting in the kitchen where they had been all night. They had tried to cast and number of locations spells in hopes of locking him in but nothing worked. If anything he was outside of the seals reach which their magic could not reach.   
Just as everyone could be heard making their way around the house for the day Walter quietly came in the back door and sat at the table.   
“Morning, I'm ... sorry about last night."  
Evinrude looked him up and down.  
"So you got mixed up with the wolf charmer."  
He could tell by the tone of their voice that they didn't approve of the wolf charmer. While he didn't really like the idea himself he was grateful someone kept an eye on him

"You should be careful with them while they will take excellent care of a werewolf who comes to them it always comes with a price. Werewolves are sold for their fur and teeth among other things. While not all of them will do that you really have to be careful. All things considered Evinrude's standoffishness is well founded."

“Look I don’t know what to think here. What i do know is She kept me out of trouble last night and other than getting some rather awkward advances from a barely 18 year old nothing horrible happened.”

Evinrude took the bag from his hand looked inside and scoffed.  
“And I bet she told you how wonderful this would be for you if you drank it? It will seem like a good thing but its making it easier for you to be someone's pet. Is that what you want to be someone's pet.?!”

He took the bag back from them.  
“Look i think you are a bit jealous because you were not able to handle me last night let alone help me. You want to be the only person in the room that can save the day and maybe I don’t want that to be my only option.”  
They quickly slapped him across the face.

“Ugh no matter what you werewolves are all so stupid and boneheaded. Fine if you think you know what you are doing don’t bother coming to me. Go live your life and don’t come crying to me when you get caught up in some nasty mess because of it.”

At this point Ray, Winston, and Peter had come down the stairs. Peter remembering his promise to them last night quietly took his bags to the car avoiding even making eye contact with Walter.   
Ray stepped forward and cleared his throat.  
“We are all ready to go if you are.”

Walter stepped back from Evinrude and looked over.  
“Yes I think I am done here.”

Cal nodded to Ray  
“In a moment go get the car running I will be out”   
They nodded and left for the car. It was immediate that the awkward silence in the car was going to be the least of their concerns. They had already discussed that either Peter would have to sit shotgun or Walter. After much fussing about it they figured Peter would be far less difficult if they put him upfront. The could all see that the effects of the first change had in fact left their mark. Peck’s normal well kempt appearance was a little more rugged looking. His teeth were noticeably more canine and his nails looked a little more like claws. He quietly took a seat in the back of the car. They all waited quietly for Cal to come out so they could go home.

 

“Evinrude I know you are not too fond of werewolves but you need to dial it back. You know as well as I do that there is more to that situation than normal. You don’t have to go out of your way for him”  
“And I won't”  
“Right, but maybe a little bit of patience is a good thing and while i don’t like him getting mixed up with a wolf charmer either the idea of a more subdued werewolf working a high stress job in new york city is a lot better in the long run than a freaked out high strung killing machine like we had last night. I will do my best to keep an eye on him and Korrin has also offered to lend her advice when she is able.”

“Here’s some advice, If you want to truly help him a silver bullet between the eyes will do him and all of you a favor.”  
Cal threw up his hands and went towards the door.   
“ I sure as hell hope no one is an uncaring when you need them as you are right now. A few hundred years and you forgot you manners.”

As he walked out he heard Them yell back  
“Manners have nothing to do with it, I'm not some bleeding heart doctor that will help every lost cause in his vicinity so good luck and good riddance.” 

Cal slammed the door and walked over to the car  
“I’m more than ready to leave that old wretch behind. Let’s go home.”


	34. Chapter 34

It had been an entire month since the incident occured and while Egon was still gone things were mostly back to normal. Things were as busy as ever for ghostbusting and with the schools out for the summer there were plenty of people in the book store. Ray had relied on a few students from the local college to help run things at the store. They didn’t mind the work and it gave him time to keep up with other things. 

In light of some of the communication breakdowns Peck had decided that unless it was absolutely necessary to meet in person with the team all meeting would be done via conference call. All things considered He seemed to be doing ok. Cal dropped by from time to time with updates. Thankfully his attitude of being married to his work kept him out of sight enough that most people didn't notice the change in his appearance. With his help the communication between the hunters and themselves allowed for some jobs to be subcontracted to them when things were a little too hectic. Cal had a feeling that this move was more of an attempt to get closer to Director Fritz but he also noted that it didn’t hurt them in the long run. It was going to be a long summer a head but they could handle it.

 

It seemed like an instant to Egon but he could see the leaves had gone from fresh and green and were beginning to yellow here and there. Evinrude was a strict teacher but they were helping in every way they could. Morgan’s company was also very welcoming as she was not that much better with magic as he was. They had made two attempts already on the seal. The first one shortly after they had placed the new seal but Egon broke that with a sneeze and the second on the summer solstice which while it altered it a bit it did not work in a way that allowed Evinrude or himself to leave only less powerful magic users. Their last really good chance would be the fall equinox. 

Despite every attempt Egon’s magical abilities were too corrupted to be salvaged. That didn’t mean he was unable to use magic however it meant that he was the first dark Magic user in the spengler line. This presented its challenges at even simple beginner spells if done wrong could be catastrophic. 

After the summer solstice attempt Evinrude felt they had finally figured out what adjustments needed to be made for the seal to work for everyone in a way that kept them all safe. Egon and Morgan had done their part to speak with the community and explain that if everyone could keep their act together he could in time remove the seal all together however no magic could be used on mortals in harmful ways. He was well aware some magic users did do good even with black magic but he also knew many of them were very quick to attack when the seal broke. He would have to reinstate his father's appeals system and work for now on a case by case basis. 

As the day of the equinox drew near Egon could feel the energy and excitement around him. Many were waiting to rejoin their limited access to the world outside , some finding that they missed some of the perks of the modern world like grocery stores and store bought clothes rather than hand made ones. On the day of Egon woke up earlier than normal he had a good feeling about the day. He might be able to get home. His leg was mostly healed, he had learned to hide the claws caused by his corrupted magic and he was more than ready to get back into the saddle ghostbusting. 

 

The week had been more than hectic. The fall equinox was the edge of their busiest season. With all the holidays coming up the spirits seems to be extra restless. They had discussed with Peck the possibility of hiring another person but ultimately agreed it was a very delicate situation. What they did do was Hire a new secretary allowing Janine to step in to help until Egon was back and if they still needed her help after that time she was more than welcome to keep at it with a generous pay raise to boot. 

Despite it being the day of the equinox calls had suddenly dropped off. It was quiet enough to have them a little on edge knowing quiet was never a good thing at this time of year. Just as they had all sat down for dinner together, the first time in weeks they have been in the same room and not working, the lights began to flicker. The alarm in the building began to go off along with the ecto 1’s siren. If it could make noise it was going bonkers. They braced for what they were expecting to be the worst but suddenly it all stopped. After a few minutes of waiting for the phone to ring they heard a knock on the door. As they went to open it the visito helped themselves in.  
“Hello anyone one? I’m back.”

“Looks like you fixed the seal” 

Ray went racing down the stairs followed closely by Janine  
“Egon! You’re here! Man we missed you. Come one we just got dinner there's plenty for you. Man. Are we glad to see you. It's been crazy busy here.”

They all made their way back up the stairs to sit down to the first normal meal in months. They knew nothing was quite the same for anyone them anymore but at least things were as normal as they were going to get.


End file.
